Blockbuster animated film "Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi" ("Spirited Away"), directed by Hayao Miyazaki, will share one of four grand prizes at the Agency for Cultural Affairs' 5th Media Arts Festival in February, according to the executive committee for the annual event.
The prizes, which come with a certificate from the education minister, a trophy and 600,000 yen, honor "works with a high level of artistic sense and production quality."
There are four award categories: interactive digital art, as used in interactive material for video games and Web sites; noninteractive digital art, as used in visual pieces for still and motion pictures; animation; and "manga" (Japanese comic books).
Sachiko Kodama and Minako Takeno's three-dimensional patterns of flowing magnetic fluid titled "Tsukidasu Nagareru" ("Protrude, Flow") were recognized in the interactive digital art category.
Yasuo Oba's "Anjyu," a four-minute film of free-flowing forms created from complex algorithms, was awarded the prize in the noninteractive division.
Yoji Fukuyama's "F Shi Teki Nichijo" ("Mr. F's Everyday Life"), a three-volume compilation of social satires serialized in a weekly magazine since 1993, won in the manga category.
Satoshi Kon's animated feature "Sennen Joyu" ("Millennium Actress"), about a documentary filmmaker looking into the life of a legendary actress, shares the animation prize with "Spirited Away."
The panel also named 14 recipients of excellence awards, which come with 300,000 yen, a trophy and a certificate from the minister. An awards ceremony will be held on Feb. 28 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, where the winning material will be exhibited March 1 to 10 for free.
Released in July, "Spirited Away," a film about a girl who finds herself in a hot-springs resort that caters to supernatural guests, set a new Japanese box-office record in September with over 20 million viewers and revenues of 26 billion yen. The previous record was held by the 1997 epic "Titanic."