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The recently deceased Ryuichi Sakamoto at age 71 was in 2016 the first Eastern composer who received the World Soundtrack Lifetime Achievement Award here in Ghent. He was born in Tokyo and learned to play the piano from since he was three years old. Not only was he a fan of Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann Sebastian Bach and Claude Debussy, but he also loved British rock music. Sakamoto just wasn't entirely sure if The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were British or American. Debussy's nationality was much clearer to him. He recognised Asian influences in the Frenchman's oeuvre, which influenced Sakamoto's own music.

Composer Laurence Rosenthal is set to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 23rd edition of the World Soundtrack Awards, which takes place as the concluding event of Film Fest Gent on Saturday 21 October. The 50th edition of the festival crowns two grandmasters of the world of film music in its anniversary year. Earlier, it was announced that Italian composer Nicola Piovani will be a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award as well.