Theaters screening visual works were the main theater on the 2nd floor and the Auditorium on the 3rd floor, which can hold more than 100 people. Five mini theaters were also set up in the exhibition hall. Visual works from the Art Division, the Entertainment Division, and the Animation Division were gathered in one hall, and more than 50 works were screened during the exhibition period. In particular, the Animation Division presented many works from popular full-length theatrical animations to short works that had attracted attention, including The Sky Crawlers (OSHII Mamoru) and HELLS ANGELS (YAMAKAWA Yoshinobu). On holidays, theaters were full with audiences made up of every generation from children to adults.

Also screened were outstanding works from international media arts festivals including the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, which has become independent from the Cannes International Film Festival; Ars Electronica, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year; and SIGGRAPH in the United States. There were also special programs of presentations by festival directors, which were well received.

The Leading Edge Technology Showcase ’09 introduced some creative approaches taken by researchers and artists who aim to achieve a fusion of science and culture. This year’s theme was “NEXT Dimensions.” As digital technology connects with art and entertainment, there was a line-up of works that made us aware of the increasing possibilities of leading-edge technologies.

Magnetosphere has a freely changeable display which gets harder and softer. This was a surprising experience for the audience because it challenged the concept that a display should be hard. Shadow awareness is based on the concept of connecting the past and the present by changing the forms and the color of a person’s shadow moving in front of the screen. One thing that got the audience excited about the exhibition was the chance to enjoy and fully experience “the future of representation” that is being carved out by leading-edge technologies.

The Computer Graphics Contest for Students, which aims to discover young talent, celebrates its 14th anniversary. Outstanding works were exhibited after being selected from among 1,017 works entered in three divisions: the Still Image Division, the Interactive Division, and the Animation Division.

This workshop, now in its fifth year, targets students, and the participants created a music video (MV). Students who took part in this workshop videotaped the award-winning works in the Japan Media Arts Festival and digitally edited them into a single music video. Many students experienced the fascination of of digital editing and the workshop became an exciting event. It raises expectations for the emergence of new artists in the visual field.

In Award Winners Symposia, award winners and members of Jury of the Japan Media Arts Festival, discussed the background to the creation of award-wining works, their concepts, and hidden stories of their production. The audience sat and listened attentively to the distinctive panelists. Taking part in the Theme Symposia were artists, technologists, and curators active in the front line in various fields. With “Connected with the Future” as the main theme, Theme Symposia looked at the world of media arts from diverse dimensions. All the Symposia were unique to the Japan Media Arts Festival.

With a record-breaking number of visitors, the 2008 [12th] Japan Media Arts Festival was more exciting than ever. All the exhibited works had a quality suitable for representing the year 2008, and made us feel the future with a new imaginative power. From an art work created with the most sophisticated technology to a manga work that fascinated many people, in going beyond the field of presentation, this year’s Festival conveyed the present and the future of media art. Keep your eyes on development from next year onward.