Numberjacks: Nine Lives Open Mind Productions UK Nick Underwood Distribution Manager

The entire experience of the JAPAN PRIZE was an extremely positive one for me, and having the opportunity to debate other Producers' programmes and to vote for a winner was an unexpected privilege. This process was all the more poignant as were debating and analysing content with fellow producers. For Open Mind Productions, we always knew that it would be very difficult to achieve success in the 0-12 category when faced with such high quality competition from a wide range of international producers, but having our show selected by the delegates was a very meaningful result for us. I very much hope that my association with JAPAN PRIZE will be a long one, and hope to be back next year. Numberjacks has been selected for quite a number of awards in the past 12-months, and the series won the Royal Television Society Educational TV Award for pre-school, but I can say that none is as important to Open Mind as being shortlisted for the JAPAN PRIZE.

Peek-a-Boo!: Yippee!Balls! Japan Broadcasting Corporation Japan Yasue Fujimori Director, NHK Educational Corporation Photo: second from right

Peek-a-boo! is the first TV series babies watch after they come into the world. Through this program, I want to tell them, "Hello, welcome! There are many, many fantastic things in this world!" The program has more than 20 segments, and when making each episode, we value colors, sounds and other things appealing to their senses, which develop before words. The program started 11 years ago. Recently, our team has been working on content development based on the latest findings on young children's cognitive mechanisms in cooperation with research institutes such as the University of Tokyo. A segment where Bow Wow, Koto-chan, and Utan play in the studio is not only enjoyable for young children but also useful for their parents; there are many suggestions for play. This program is a support for child-rearing.

The Boy Inside MSK Productions Inc. Canada Marriane Kaplan President Photo: fifth from left

I am thrilled to be the audience choice for best show in the youth program category. I understand that The Boy Inside is the only show to be both the jury choice AND the audience choice for first prize, which is truly an honour. My intention with the film was to educate by touching people on an emotional level. During our screenings at NHK many people, young and old, came up to tell me how moved they were by film. It's wonderful to have that opportunity of face-to-face feedback and exchange. Because The Boy Inside is such an intimate and honest film, people want to share personal stories about their own experiences. I am still getting emails from people who saw the film during the JAPAN PRIZE events or on NHK. It reminds me of how film can be an exchange and connection across distance and culture. Thanks to NHK and the JAPAN PRIZE for this opportunity.

Stiff-necked father & 7 children - Love letter from Mom Television Iwate Corporation Japan Takashi Endo Producer

There is a farm located in a valley in the Kitakami Mountain Range in Iwate Prefecture. The owner is stubborn and poor as he seeks an ideal form of agriculture in his "mountain dairy." As the proverb goes, "Rich men feed, and poor men breed": he has seven children. I have been covering this family for 13 years in a TV series. One day, inadvertently, I entered this program in the JAPAN PRIZE contest. Our shooting team consists of only two persons, a cameraman and myself as director, and the target of our shooting is only this big family. As this is a long series, we thought it might be interesting to see how the children grow up over the years, but we had no particular message in mind. At the Delegates Forum, I watched a majestic German program raising the question of the miseries of war, a Chinese program presenting a mysterious world, and many other exquisite works, which made me feel I was in the wrong place. However, everyone there, including some program directors, was tender-hearted. After the credit roll, my modest program was greeted with applause. Some people even offered to shake hands. The hand of a big African gentleman was very warm. A Canadian producer's hand was cold, but her gaze was warm and her words "Good job!" encouraged me a lot. Needless to say I was not able to win a prize, but my program received the highest number of delegates' votes. I left Tokyo with my heart filled with the kindness extended by my colleague delegates.

I Feel the Words Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) Japan Ritsuko Sakai Senior Producer Photo: second from left (with program director Akiko Murai, fourth from left)

We first met the people of the Yokohama School for the Blind when we visited there to shoot Wakuwaku Jugyo (Exciting Lesson), a regular program on NHK ETV. Watching children striving hard to learn Kanji Braille, we were deeply impressed by the profundity of kanji characters and the heartwarming relationship between the teacher and her pupils, and wanted to know about her class "more deeply." Since then, our camera followed the class for 6 months to produce I Feel the Words. When I thought "more deeply," what I wanted to value most was to depict what "not being able to see" really means. When I decided to portray not what is being taught at the class, but what those blind pupils feel and acquire from the class, I thought no one but the children could narrate this story. Yurina Ootsuka is a bookworm, and when she recites their story, we can visualize it in our minds. Our biggest pleasure would be that the solidity and beauty of her words reach you. Thank you very much.