Japan Prize 2025 winners announced

NHK is happy to announce that the Japan Prize jury have made  their selection of winners for each category  This year’s competition received  373 entries and proposals from 58 countries and regions. 
 
The creators of the award-winning films will be invited to Tokyo to present their works at the  Japan Prize Festival Week which will be held November 17th-20th. The Grand Prix winner will be  chosen during this festival from among the Best Work of each division by a jury composed of 12  producers and media professionals representing 12 countries and regions, and will be announced  at the Awards Ceremony on the final day of the Festival on November 20th. 

Winners for the Japan Prize 2025 Content Category: 
Pre-school Division (0-6 years)

Award for the Best Work 
Lena's Farm: Full Nest 
Studio FILM BILDER/MINYA Film/ZDF (Germany/Croatia) 
Animation 
On Lena’s farm, a bunch of peculiar animals live together, and  Lena loves each one just the same. In this episode, the squirrel’s  nest is warmly padded for the cold winter with all kinds of goods  that he managed to sneak out. But then a flood breaks out and  forest animals flee to Lena’s farm. The squirrel would like to help  them

Award of Honor 
Tweedy & Fluff: Toy 
Stitchy Feet/Second Home Studios (United Kingdom) 
Animation 
Tweedy makes a special toy for Fluff, hoping to entertain and  stimulate his pet’s natural instincts. But when a noisy fly distracts Fluff, Tweedy is very disappointed. He realizes that animals act on instinct and never intend to hurt our feelings. With patience, he discovers a more creative way to play with the sound of a bell. 

Primary Division (6-12 years)

Award for the Best Work
Autokar
Ozù Productions/Studio Amopix/Vivi Film/Novanima (France/Belgium) 

Animation 
In the 1990s, eight-year-old Agata leaves Poland for Belgium alone. Agata writes a letter to her father back home on the bus, but her pencil falls out and gets lost. The search for the pencil leads her into a fantastic world populated by strange half-human, half animal passengers. Through her eyes, the reality of migration  becomes an initiatory experience. 

Award of Honor 
Media Stamped: What's In A Frame 
Sinking Ship Entertainment/Global Citizen (Canada/United States) 
Studio Show 
A media literacy magazine-style series. Each episode teaches children how to analyze media content with a critical eye, unraveling the complexities of media bias embedded in TV, film, news, and social media. In this episode, they learn how to spot hero-and-villain frames and re-write tricky news headlines to stop  words from manipulating their opinions—so they can find the facts. 
Youth Division (12-18 years)

Award for the Best Work 
The Brink of Dreams 
Felucca Films/Dolce Vita Films (France/Egypt) 
Documentary 
In a remote village in southern Egypt, a group of girls rebel by forming an all-female street theater troupe. They dream of becoming actresses, dancers, and singers, challenging their families and villagers with their unexpected performances. Shot over four years, The Brink of Dreams follows them from childhood to womanhood, facing the most crucial choices of their lives.

Award of Honor 
Let's Talk About It!: Nudity x Social Psychology/Female Genitals x Biology NHK-Japan Broadcasting Corporation (Japan) 
Studio Show 
This edutainment show delves deeply into themes related to sexuality from an academic perspective. In this episode’s first theme, “nakedness and social psychology,” we find out that perceptions of nudity have changed as cultures and times shift. In the second theme, “female genitalia and biology,” we learn what women need to know in order to take care of themselves and their partners. Lifelong Learning Division (18 years and over)

Award for the Best Work 
Where The Kids Have No Name 
JaJa Film Productions/Dhaka Pictures (Netherlands/Bangladesh) 

Documentary 
More than 3.4 million children are estimated to live on the streets in Bangladesh, exposed to dangers such as drug abuse and rape. A small group of people goes out on the streets to give them a helping hand. The film presents the world and minds of street children in Dhaka, as well as the rescue efforts of social workers. 

Award of Honor
Walk the Line 

CNA, Mediacorp (Singapore) 
Documentary 
Tens of thousands of Chinese citizens brave a seven-country odyssey through Latin America, risking everything to reach the United States. What has driven them to such desperation, and is the American dream all it's made out to be? CNA correspondent Wei Du joins a group of Chinese migrants and witnesses firsthand the hopes and despair on the treacherous journey. 

Special Prize

I AM INVISIBLE 
NTR (Netherlands) 
Documentary 
Children of today reflect on objects that Jewish children in the Netherlands left behind in the custody of friends or neighbors before they went into hiding or were deported to concentration camps. Marjan left her dollhouse with a non-Jewish friend. Nico gave his football table to his neighbor Cor. With stop-motion animation, the stories behind these objects come to life.

Although it was not selected as one of the winning works, the following title received high  praise from the judges and was specially selected as a 'Jury Commendation': 
Jury Commendation

Another Body 
WILLA Productions (Israel/United States) 
Documentary 
This documentary follows Taylor, a college student who discovers deepfake porn videos of herself circulating online. She begins a determined search for the perpetrator. Through candid video diaries, synthetic media, and 2D/3D animation, the film draws viewers into Taylor’s online and offline worlds, turning the vast social issue of deepfakes and image-based abuse into a  compelling personal story. 

 

LC