December 7, 2007

Director Kenji Kamiyama and Production I.G have been honored with a double recognition at the 11th Japan Media Arts Festival (2007). The feature Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society (2006) and the TV series Guardian of the Spirit (2007), both directed by Kenji Kamiyama, have been nominated Jury Recommended Work in the Animation Division of the prestigious event supported by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs.

Guardian of the Spirit is a 26-episode high fantasy TV series based on Nahoko Uehashi best-seller novel, Seirei no Moribito. The series, Kamiyama's first directorial effort after the acclaimed Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C.-related works, was aired in Japan on state-owned NHK BS-2 from April to September 2007.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society, the latest chapter from the world million-selling Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex franchise, is a full-length 105 minute theatrical-quality feature set in 2034, two years since Motoko Kusanagi left Section 9. Having being awarded Jury Recommended Work in the previous edition of the festival, Solid State Society achieved an outstanding result for two consecutive years.

Five Production I.G's works received recognitions in the past editions. In 2000, Blood: The Last Vampire (director: Hiroyuki Kitakubo) was awarded with the Animation Division Grand Prize, and in 2002, Episode 2 of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (director: Kenji Kamiyama) received the Excellence Prize in the same category. In 2004, both Innocence (director: Mamoru Oshii) and Otogi Zoshi (director: Mizuho Nishikubo) were nominated Jury Recommended Works. In the 10th edition, I.G was double awarded with Solid State Society (Jury Recommended Work, Animation Division) and the bisque doll reproducing D'Eon de Beaumont (from Kazuhiro Furuhashi's TV series Le Chevalier D'Eon), appointed Jury Recommended Work in the Entertainment Division.

Started in 1997, the Japan Media Arts Festival is a "Contest" that praises creative media art works utilizing the latest expression technology, and it is also a "Festival" that supports creative activity and broadly presents various art works. At the same time, the event is promoting the development of media arts in Japan by providing the opportunities of appreciation, such as Exhibitions and Sanctioned Events.

Japan Media Arts Festival official website:
http://plaza.bunka.go.jp/

© Nahoko UEHASHI/KAISEI-SHA/Guardian of the Spirit Committee
© 2002-2006 Shirow Masamune - Production I.G/KODANSHA