Festival Report

The 11th Japan Media Arts Festival was held from February 6 to February 17, 2008, at the National Art Center to introduce to a broad audience distinguished works of media arts from the fields of art, games, animation, and manga. Approximately 160 excellent works were exhibited out of a total of 2,091 entries from 43 countries and regions, the largest number in the history of the festival. In addition, a wide variety of symposia and workshops were held. The festival welcomed 44,524 visitors, which was a 67% increase compared to last year. Many visitors were from Asia and other countries.
Exhibition Screening
Introduce the exhibition of award-winning works of the 2007 [11th] Japan Media Arts Festival which listed approximately 160 pieces of work, the 13th Computer Graphics Contest for Students, and Leading Edge Technology Showcase ’08 among other exhibitions of this year. Report screening of film works selected in each division of the 2007 [11th] Japan Media Arts Festival, distinguished works in the Animation Division of the 13th Computer Graphics Contest for Students, as well as screen works of overseas media art festivals.
Symposia Event
Introduce symposiums inviting a variety of guests from various fields such as Award-winnersESymposiums, attended by this years award-winners and jury members, and Theme Symposiums in which panelists discussed a variety of subjects regarding media arts. Cover the workshop Collaboration on Animation Films with Students from Asia by students from other Asian countries studying in Japan and Japanese students, which marked the 4th this year, including their production scenes and presentation.

Awards Ceremony and Celebrarion Banquet

Prior to the Festival, a presentation ceremony for award-winners of the Japan Media Arts Festival at the Midtown Hall of Roppongi was held on February 5, 2008. To award-winners of each division, diplomas of merit from Ms. IKENOBO, the Senior Vice Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and trophies from the Head of Jury of each division were presented.
Also, the Special Achievement Prize, which celebrates a person who marked a great achievement in a field of media arts in Japan, was awarded to Mr. TSUJI Masaki, an animation script writer and mystery writer, who has supported the story side of TV animation since its dawn. The celebration banquet following awards to people from various areas ended the events on a lively note.

 
Organizer : Japan Media Arts Festival Executive Committee
[Agency for Cultural Affairs / The National Art Center, Tokyo /
CG-ARTS Society]
Date : From Wednesday , Feb. 6th to Sunday , Feb. 17th , 2008
(Closed on Feb. 12th , 2008)
Place : The National Art Center, Tokyo
7-22-2 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo Japan
Admission fee : Free
Number of visitors : 44,524
Summary of the Festival