Jakarta. Veteran Indonesian filmmaker Garin Nugroho Riyanto will be honored during the Silver Screen Awards at the Marina Bay Sands Grand Theater in Singapore on Dec. 2.

The awards ceremony forms part of the Singapore International Film Festival.

In an official statement, the festival organizers said Garin is considered one of the most significant filmmakers in Southeast Asia for his ability to capture his love for Indonesia, its people and the Javanese culture through a poetic, reflective film style that resonates strongly with audiences.

Garin is a cinematography graduate of the Jakarta Arts Institute (IKJ) whose stellar career has been evident from the start.

His debut fiction feature film, "Love in a Slice of Bread," won the Best Film Award at the Indonesian Film Festival (FFI) in 1991. Another, "Letter for an Angel," was voted the best film at the Taormina Film Festival and the Tokyo International Film Festival in 1994.

"Leaf on a Pillow" also won the Special Jury Prize at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 1998.

Garin, who is a recipient of the French honorary decoration, Chevalier dans l'ordre des Arts et Lettres, was also recognized as the best young director at the Asia-Pacific International Film Festival in Seoul in 1992 and best director at the Pyongyang International Film Festival, while he also won the Young Filmmakers Jury Award at the Berlin Film Festival in 1994.

One of his notable works is a gamelan musical, "Opera Jawa" ("Requiem From Java"), commissioned by the Austrian government for the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth in 2006.

His exploration of the Javanese musical continued in his latest movie, "Setan Jawa" ("The Java Devil"). The silent film, created in 2016, is screened while accompanied by live gamelan and symphony orchestra performances. It has toured Indonesia, Singapore, Australia, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Aside from Garin, who will receive an honorary award, Japanese actor Kōji Yakusho will be presented with the Cinema Legend Award, which recognizes the work of Asian actors.

Best known for his sensitive portrayals of the common man, Yakusho has starred in 60 films, including "The Eel" (1997), "Shall We Dance" (1996), "Memoirs of a Geisha" (2005), "Babel" (2006) and "13 Assassins" (2010). He is also the youngest actor to have received the Shiju Hosho Medal of Honor from the Japanese emperor.

Festivalgoers can look forward to meeting and interacting with Yakusho and Nugroho in their masterclasses at the ArtScience Museum on Dec. 2 and the National Museum of Singapore on Dec. 3.

The awards and masterclasses form part of the 28th Singapore International Film Festival, slated to take place at various venues from Nov. 23 to Dec. 3. More information about the festival is available on its website.

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