Nippon Connection

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Nippon Connection is a yearly film festival in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, that focuses on Japanese cinema. It happens in early summer and is run by the nonprofit Nippon Connection e.V. It has become the world’s largest platform for contemporary Japanese film, drawing about 20,000 visitors in 2025. The 26th edition will take place June 2–7, 2026.

History in brief
- 1999: German film students Marion Klomfass and Holger Ziegler organize Japanese film screenings at Goethe University in Frankfurt.
- 2000: The first festival opens with more than 10,000 visitors and 13 films; two Japanese filmmakers attend.
- After a one-year break, Nippon Connection e.V. is founded and the second festival is held. The festival center is at the Students’ House of Goethe University.
- 2002: Nippon Digital category starts; an exhibition with Künstlerhaus Mousonturm; the Nippon Connection Newcomer Award is introduced.
- 2003: Nippon Retro retrospective with the German Film Museum; collaboration with Literaturhaus Frankfurt.
- 2004–2005: Parts of the program tour to other cities; Nippon Cinema Award is introduced.
- 2007: The Kinema Club holds its first European conference at Nippon Connection; about 170 films are shown.
- 2010: For the 10th anniversary, the Nippon Digital Award is created to help rising talents (the winner gets free subtitling); the award is renamed Nippon Visions Award in 2011. Parts of Nippon Visions are also shown abroad as Nippon Connection Film Festival on Tour (NYC, Barcelona, Berlin).
- 2012–2014: Nippon Kids program starts; VGF Nippon in Motion Award for a short ad is given.
- 2013: The festival expands to six days; main venues move to Künstlerhaus Mousonturm and Theater Willy Praml; Marion Klomfass receives an honorary award from the Japanese Foreign Minister.
- 2014: Nippon Visions Award becomes Nippon Visions Jury Award; an audience award is added. Attendance exceeds 16,000.
- 2015: Nippon Honor Award is introduced.
- 2018: Nippon Docs section starts.
- 2020: Due to COVID-19, the festival is online (June 9–14); Tokachi Tsuchiya wins the Nippon Online Award; the festival team wins a JaDe award in Cologne.
- 2023: Nippon Rising Star Award is introduced; first winner is Toko Miura.
- 2024: Nippon Storytelling Award debuts for best screenplay in Nippon Visions.
- 2019 onward: The festival attracts many filmmakers and actors and typically shows more than 100 films per year, mainly German, European, and international premieres. The program is divided into Nippon Cinema, Nippon Animation, Nippon Visions, Nippon Docs, and Nippon Retro. The Nippon Culture program adds lectures, workshops, and performances (tea ceremony, taiko, calligraphy, dance, martial arts), with evenings often featuring live concerts or parties.

What you can see and do at Nippon Connection
- Film program: more than 100 films each year, with many premieres; filmmakers often participate in talks and panels.
- Sections: Nippon Cinema, Nippon Animation, Nippon Visions, Nippon Docs, Nippon Retro.
- Nippon Culture: lectures, workshops, performances on Japanese culture.
- Evening events: concerts, parties, and open lectures by international experts on Japanese cinema.

Awards and honors (examples)
- Nippon Connection Newcomer Award (since 2002)
- Nippon Cinema Award (since 2005)
- Nippon Digital Award, later Nippon Visions Award (2010, renamed 2011)
- Nippon Visions Audience Award (since 2014)
- Nippon Visions Jury Award (since 2014)
- VGF Nippon in Motion Award (2012–2014)
- Nippon Honor Award (2015–2022)
- Nippon Docs Award (since 2019)
- Nippon Online Award (2020)
- Nippon Rising Star Award (since 2023)
- Nippon Storytelling Award (since 2024)

Organization and backing
- Organized by Nippon Connection e.V., a nonprofit run largely by volunteers (about 70 in the core team) with more than 100 additional volunteers during the festival.
- The festival’s budget comes from revenues, subsidies, and sponsorships.
- Nippon Connection is a member of the Network of Hessian Film Festivals and AG Filmfestival.
- Official patrons in 2025 included Timon Gremmels (Hessian Minister for Science and Art), Mike Josef (Mayor of Frankfurt), and the Consulate-General of Japan.