MOVIES - July 23, 1990

Teshigahara Tribute Hits Snag: The L.A. Festival may have run into snags for its scheduled Sept. 3 and 4 screenings of Hiroshi Teshigahara’s new film, “Rikyu,” which has been billed as the director’s “triumphant return to filmmaking” after an absence of 17 years. An L.A. Festival spokesman said that the Japanese director--who achieved international renown 25 years ago with “Woman in the Dunes”--told the festival late last week that he no longer has rights to “Rikyu,” which tells the story of a legendary 16th-Century tea master and his complex relationship with his warlord patron. But the arts festival is now “trying to work out a deal with the New York distribution company holding the rights--it’s not a dead issue,” the spokesman said. Even if the film is screened as scheduled, however, the director said that he will not be attending the festival because of other commitments.