On February 26, the Awards Ceremony was held in the YEBISU GARDEN HALL. This year, Japan Media Arts Festival broadened the range of entry category and reorganized for the first time to include four divisions: Art, Entertainment, Animation, and Manga. As a result, more variety of works was submitted to the festival more than ever before.

	The Special Achievement Prize has been set since this year. The prize of this year went to Mr. Katsuhiro Yamaguchi, who is the most influential artist in Media Art scene in Japan.
	The awardees received the certificates, prizes and trophies handed by the commissioner for Cultural Affairs, Hayato Kawai.

[Art division]

The exhibition space was divided into "Interactive", "Installation", "Film", "Still Pictures", "Web works" sections. Each section offered the unique feeling with the characteristics of works and, as a whole, the Art division produced magnetic atmosphere.

	"Venus Villosa" was screened on the largest screen. The audience enjoyed transforming beautiful image and sound into the beast by touching the interface of the work.
Young visitors loved interactive art works for their direct physical experience with the art works.

[Entertainment division]

The highly entertained works such as games and amusing web works were exhibited. The space was so packed with the visitors and many people tried and enjoyed of playing the works.

	"atMOS - Self Packaging Movie- " you can make your own promotion video and can send to the cell phone by e-mail right away.
There was no break in the traffic on "Eye Toy: Play", loved by from kids to adults.

[Animation division ]

All awarded works (including the recommended works) were shown in the animation theater and monitors. Also, the continuities for animation and stuffed animals for the puppet animation were exhibited. It's very valuable experience to see behind the scenes of animation works.

In the section of the grand prize work "winter days", the continuities made by 35 animation artists were exhibited.

[Manga division]

The awarded manga comics from this year and from the past were presented by the whole volume. Many visitors were absorbed in reading them on the sofa.

Very valuable monochrome and colored manuscripts were placed on the wall. Usually, those manuscripts are not accessible to the public.

Besides the award-winning works from this year, the works from the past and CG Contest for Students were part of the festival. The grand prize work, in the interactive division of the CG Contest for Students, "Manglobe" was placed in the center of the entrance and drove huge attention from the visitors. "Manglobe" made visitors surprise and laugh at the same time. The range of visitors' age was very wide and each visitor enjoyed the festival with his/her own way. Since many exhibited works were highly entertained this year, the atmosphere was very cheerful and lively with a lot of laughter.

Along with the exhibition of winning works, interesting symposiums and the special lectures were carried by the awardees and the leading talents in media art field. They inspired many audiences with enriched topics such as regarding the new approach to the art and the application process of high digital technique to the art works.

[Production I.G, President, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa x Yasuki Hamano]

On March 6, the special symposium was held by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, president of Production I.G. Since Production I.G is one of the Japanese leading companies in the global animation industry, many people were attracted to this special event and the hall was almost filled to capacity.
Mr. Ishikawa started the symposium with the episode of him founding Production I.G. separated from the Tatsunoko Production. Focusing on the episodes of new work "Innocence" (directed by Mamoru Oshii), he developed the lecture enthusiastically further to referring the importance of having the static to bring the success to the works. Mr. Ishikawa also gave a clue of the theme of "Innocence" to the audience by quoting the note from Mr. Mamoru Oshii, "The theme of 'Innocence' was in the eyes of the doll which appeared at the beginning. But you can see that only in the large screen in the movie theater." That made Mr. Yasuki Hamao, the M.C. of the special event, excited and said "I have to go back to the theater to see the film again!"
He also introduced the episodes of one of the dearest friends of him, the sharp-witted producer, Mr. Toshio Suzuki from studio GHIBLI, and revealed the inside story of animation industry. The lecture was very intense and the audience was totally involved by Mr. Ishikawa's enthusiasm for animation.