In 1999 two German students of film studies, Marion Klomfass and Holger Ziegler, decided to show some Japanese films at the
Goethe University in
Frankfurt am Main. The organizers began by planning for 1,500 visitors, but interest quickly grew and the first edition of the festival in 2000 had more than 10,000 visitors. Thirteen films were screened, and two Japanese filmmakers attended that year. After a one year break, during which the non-profit association Nippon Connection e.V. was founded, the second Nippon Connection Film Festival took place. The festival center was located at the Students’ House of the
Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main. In 2002 a new category for digital productions (
Nippon Digital) was created. As well, an exhibition was arranged in cooperation with the
Künstlerhaus Mousonturm and the
Nippon Connection Newcomer Award for the best up-coming film production was introduced. At the Nippon Connection Film Festival 2003, a retrospective (
Nippon Retro) was held the first time in cooperation with the
German Film Museum in Frankfurt am Main. Additional events were also organized in cooperation with the
Literaturhaus Frankfurt. In 2004 parts of the program were sent on tour to Leipzig and Barcelona. The festival organizers were invited to Tokyo to take part in a symposium on the impact of Japanese films abroad by the
Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs (Bunkacho). In 2005 the tour program was extended and the
Nippon Cinema Award was introduced. In 2007 the Kinema Club held its first European conference at Nippon Connection. That year 170 films were shown. For the 10th anniversary in 2010, the
Nippon Digital Award was established to support rising talents. The winner, chosen by a professional jury, receives a free subtitling for his or her next film. The
Nippon Digital Award was renamed in 2011 into the
Nippon Visions Award. 2010 was the last year that parts of the
Nippon Visions section, which focuses on independent productions, were distributed worldwide to cities including
New York,
Barcelona, and
Berlin under the designation
Nippon Connection Film Festival on Tour. In 2012 the children’s program
Nippon Kids was established. From 2012 until 2014, the VGF
Nippon in Motion Award was given to the director of the best 12-second spot. In 2013, the festival was extended to six days, and the main venues were moved to the
Künstlerhaus Mousonturm and Theater Willy Praml in der
Naxoshalle. Further venues include the cinema at the
German Film Museum, the Mal Seh’n cinema, the gallery Ausstellungsraum Eulengasse, and the theater
Die Käs. Also in 2013 the festival director Marion Klomfass received an honorary award for her outstanding commitment to the support and promotion of Japanese-German exchange from the Japanese
Minister of Foreign Affairs (Gaimu Daijin Hyosho). In 2014 the
Nippon Visions Award became the
Nippon Visions Jury Award. Also, an audience award, the
Nippon Visions Audience Award, was created. That year the festival drew more than 16,000 visitors. The 15th edition of the festival in 2015 saw the introduction of the
Nippon Honor Award for personalities who have made an outstanding contribution to Japanese cinema in their careers. In 2018 the new section
Nippon Docs was introduced. In 2020, due to the restrictions imposed by the COVID 19 pandemics, the festival took place exclusively online for the first time from 9 to 14 June 2020 using a video-on-demand platform provided by
Shift72.
Tokachi Tsuchiya received the Nippon Online Award for the documentary film An Ant Strikes Back for the first time. Also in 2020 the festival team received the JaDe award in Cologne. In 2023, the new
Nippon Rising Star Award was introduced. Its first awardee was the singer and actress
Toko Miura. In 2024, the jury prize Nippon Storytelling Award was presented for the first time for the best screenplay in the Nippon Visions section. Directors and actors who have attended the festival:
Koji Yakusho,
Shinobu Terajima,
Kiyoshi Kurosawa,
Shinya Tsukamoto,
Nobuhiro Yamashita,
Toshiaki Toyoda,
Yuki Tanada,
Koji Wakamatsu,
Isao Yukisada,
Ryuichi Hiroki,
Sakura Ando,
Kiyohiko Shibukawa,
Miwa Nishikawa, Shuichi Okita,
Koji Yamamura,
Shinsuke Sato,
Koji Fukada,
Kaori Momoi,
Kazuyoshi Kumakiri,
Akiko Oku and more. ==Programme==