After his motorscooter accident, Kitano took up painting. His paintings have been published in books, featured in gallery exhibitions, and adorn the covers of many of the soundtrack albums for his films. His paintings were featured prominently in his most critically acclaimed film, 1997's "Hana-bi". Although for years already Kitano's largest audience had been the foreign arthouse crowd, "Hana-bi" cemented his status internationally as one of Japan's foremost modern filmmakers. Although it was not a big success financially, it won the Golden Lion award at the 1997 Venice Film Festival. Kitano himself said it was not until he won this award that he was accepted as a serious director in Japan; prior his films were looked at as just the hobby of a famous comedian.