A total of 2645 works were submitted for this year's edition of the Japan Media Arts Festival, including over 600 works from 48 different countries. After careful deliberation by the jury, the following awards were given in each of the four categories (Art, Entertainment, Animation, and Manga): one Grand Prize, four Excellence Awards, and three New Face Awards. In addition, the jury awarded one Special Achievement Award and named dozens of Jury Selection Works. In the Art division, the minimal film Que voz feio (plain voices) simultaneously presents two sisters, a twin in two frames, as they tell their individual stories; the Grand Prize-winning work allows the viewers to experience various levels of “difference,” be it between memories, nationalities, or languages. The Grand Prize in the Entertainment division is the ambitious SPACE BALLOON PROJECT, which streamed to the Internet a live video feed from a smartphone attached to a specially designed balloon as it rose 30,000 meters into the stratosphere. The Grand Prize in the Animation division goes to the television series PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA, which has had such a profound effect on the Japanese cultural scene. In the Manga division, the Grand Prize goes to Saturn Apartments, which depicted in great detail the daily lives of individuals living in a man-made residence in the near future, after the surface of the earth has become uninhabitable after having been designated as a nature reserve. The recipient of the Special Achievement Award is KINOSHITA Sayoko, who has made such a lasting contribution to animation production, promotion and education as the Director of the Hiroshima International Animation Festival. The exhibition of Award-winning works is scheduled to be held from Wednesday, February 22, until Sunday, March 4, 2012 at the National Art Center, Tokyo and various satellite venues. An award ceremony for the recipients is scheduled for Tuesday, February 21 at Tokyo Midtown in Roppongi. Read full press release about award-winning works 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 media arts (comics, animation, game and media art.) The event is hosted by: The Japan Media Arts Festival Executive Committee Source: Japan Media Arts Festival