On December 10th, actress Keiko Kitagawa received the ELLE Best Actress Award, given to a shining female actor in the Japanese film industry, at the ELLE CINEMA AWARDS 2025, a film awards sponsored by fashion magazine ELLE (Hearst Fujingahosha), and attended the awards ceremony held in Tokyo.
Kitagawa received the award in recognition of her performance in the film "Night Flower" (currently in theaters, directed by Eiji Uchida), in which she played the lead role. "It's been 22 years since my debut, but this is the first time I've received a film award for a leading role, so I'm really, really happy, and I'm really feeling the weight of the trophy right now," she said with joy.
Kitagawa, who plays a single mother who turns to drug trafficking to support her child, smiled and said, "When I received the offer, I knew I had to act with great resolve. I ignored my past experiences and threw myself into this work with all my heart and soul, and I'm glad that I think I was able to convey even a little of my feelings to everyone."
In the currently airing NHK morning drama "Bakebake," she plays Ushimizu Tae, the heroine's biological mother and the daughter of a samurai who once resigned to begging. When asked what she is conscious of as an actor, she said, "When I was younger, I played a lot of perfect characters, but I've always struggled to try a wide range of roles. Since I had a child, I've been given the opportunity to play a variety of mother roles, and I feel like I've reached a turning point, or maybe I'm at a stage where I'm growing as a person, a mother, and an actor."
When asked what kind of year she would like 2026 to be, she replied, "I've been doing heavy projects for a while now, so I've actually been thinking that it's about time I played a happier role (laughs). I've always wanted to change my sparkling image, but sometimes I want to sparkle," she said enthusiastically. "To achieve that, I would like to maintain my health, place my footing at home, and live a fulfilling life," she said enthusiastically.
The "ELLE CINEMA AWARDS" is a program run by fashion magazine "ELLE" in which cultural figures, journalists, and ELLE editors vote to select the best films released in 2025. This year marks the 11th time the awards have been held, with Ryo Yoshizawa Ryo receiving the "ELLE Men Award,"Taisei Kido and Natsuki Deguchi Natsuki receiving the "ELLE Girl Rising Star Award," Tsukahara Ayuko receiving the "ELLE Best Director Award," and the film "National Treasure" (currently in theaters, directed by Lee Sang-il) receiving the Topic Award.
