January 25, 2013

Hiroyuki Okiura's second directorial effort, A Letter to Momo was awarded the Prize of Excellence in the animation category at the 36th annual Japan Academy Prizes.

Started in 1978 and operated by the Nippon Academy Prize Association with the mission of supporting the advancement and development of cinematic art, technique and science, the Japan Academy Prizes added the Animation Category six years ago, and A Letter to Momo is one of the five animated movies awarded for this 36th edition. Winners become nominees for the Best Animated Feature Film Prize, that will be conferred by the jury during the official ceremony on March 8, 2013.
Movies released in Japan between December 11, 2011, and December 15, 2012 are eligible for the prizes, and a committee of 3,931 academy members voted on 171 films submitted for consideration.

In the past years, Mamoru Oshii's The Sky Crawlers and Shinsuke Sato's Oblivion Island both received the same prize.

Japan Academy Prizes official website (Japanese only):
http://www.japan-academy-prize.jp/prizes/36.html

© 2012 "A Letter to Momo" Film Partners