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Call for Entries - 15th Japan Media Arts Festival: Application period July 15 - September 22

This is the 15th year since the Japan Media Arts Festival was first held in 1997. The festival is organized by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, with the aim of promoting the creation and development of media arts (comics, animation, game and media art).

The call is for entries in four divisions, Art, Entertainment, Animation and Manga, and is open to entries from anywhere in the world. The Agency will award a Grand Prize and a number of other awards at the festival, and the winning works will also be exhibited.

Last year saw 1951 entries from Japan and 694 from elsewhere (48 countries and regions) and more than 70,000 visitors attended the exhibition of award-winning works. The festival has grown into an event that attracts wide attention both in Japan and around the world.

The application period has now been officially set.
Applications for entry will be accepted from Friday, July 15th, through Thursday, September 22nd, 2011.
After entries are judged, an exhibition of award-winning works will be held at the National Art Center, Tokyo from, Wednesday, February 22nd through, Sunday, March 4th, 2012.

In addition, a Japan Media Arts Festival exhibition is held outside Japan every year to promote the dissemination of Japans media arts (comics, animation, game, and media art). Since this year is the 150th anniversary of German-Japan exchanges, the festival will be held from Friday, September 9th, through Sunday, October 2nd at Dortmund U.
This event will be called the Dortmund Exhibition 2011 of the Japan Media Arts Festival and details will be announced in due course.

? Entry Divisions: Art, Entertainment, Animation, Manga





  • Art Division




Artwork created with computers or other electronic devices.

Interactive art, media installations, video works, digital photographs, graphic art, website works, etc.




  • Entertainment Division




Entertainment created with computers or other electronic devices.

Games (including web games and social network games), video works (music videos, publicity films including TV commercials, digital special effects videos), toys (including figures), character merchandise, website works (including advertisements, etc.), application software, etc.




  • Animation Division




Theatrical animation, TV animation, independent animation, animated short films, etc.




  • Manga Division




Manga published in book form, in magazines (including works still being serialized), produced independently and in small private magazines, on websites (PC/mobile), etc.

? Awards


For each division, one Grand Prize, four Excellence Awards and three New Face Awards will be awarded on the basis of artistic quality and creativity. In addition, a Special Achievement Award will be awarded on the recommendation of the jury to a person having made a special contribution to media art in four specified divisions.

Grand Prize?Certificate from Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Trophy 600,000 Japanese Yen

Excellence Award? Certificate from Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Trophy 300,000 Japanese Yen

New Face Award? Certificate from Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Trophy 200,000 Japanese Yen

Special Achievement Award: Certificate from Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Trophy

Jury Selection Works considered to have special merit will be exhibited or screened along with the award-winning works at international media art and film festivals in Japan and abroad.

? Judge, Announcement of Results


October through November: Jury judge

December:1. Notification of winners

2. Announcement of Results on the Japan Media Arts Festival website and in the mass media
(TV, newspapers, magazines)

? Awards Ceremony: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 Tokyo Midtown



? Exhibition of Award-winning Works: Wednesday, February 22 through Sunday, March 4, 2012 The National Art Center,Tokyo



? What is the Japan Media Arts Festival?


The Agency for Cultural Affairs has been organizing the Japan Media Arts Festival annually since 1997 with the aim of promoting the creation and development of the media arts. The Japan Media Arts Festival makes awards for outstanding creative works in the divisions of Arts, Entertainment, Animation and Manga, and provides opportunities to introduce these works through the award announcement, ceremony, and exhibition of the award-winning works.

In addition, the award-winning works will be entered and exhibited in media arts-related festivals and animated film festivals in Japan and overseas. In 2010, the festival's award-winning works were also exhibited at 17 events in Japan, including the Hiroshima International Animation Festival, Okinawa Film Festival and Sapporo International Short Motion Picture Festival, as well as 23 events overseas including the Japan Expo in France, ISEA in Germany and Ars Electronica in Austria.

The website for the festival is: http://bunka-jmaf.jp/press_release_en.html

You can download a pdf Application guide at: http://bunka-jmaf.jp/images/guideline_en.pdf