Director Hirokazu Koreeda has returned to Japan after winning the Palme d'Or at the 71st Cannes Film Festival for his movie "Manbiki Kazoku" (Shoplifters).
"I'll sleep with the trophy, at least tonight," Koreeda, 55, said happily at a press conference at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Wednesday. "After seeing my staffers' happy faces, now I really feel [that I won]."
It was the first time in 21 years for a Japanese film to win the top award at the Cannes festival.
The day after attending the award ceremony, Koreeda flew to New York for a meeting about his next film, so he left the trophy with a staffer. He was reunited with it at the airport on Wednesday.
"But I don't know if I should take it home. We'll have a talk [about it]. But I'll sleep with it tonight, at least," he said.
"Manbiki Kazoku" was scheduled to be released on June 8, but advance screenings will be held on June 2-3 in commemoration of the win.
The number of theaters for the film's release has also been expanded to more than 300, from the originally planned 200.
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