In 2026, the NIPPON VISIONS JURY AWARD is presented for the sixteenth time to one of the directors competing in the NIPPON VISIONS section. The winner will receive a free subtitling for their next film, sponsored by Japan Visualmedia Translation Academy (JVTA). 

All films in the section that are at least 60 minutes long, have at least their German premiere at the festival, and were either produced in Japan or made by Japanese directors since 2025 are eligible for the competition.
 

Jury

Barbara WURM (Festival Director, Berlinale Forum)
Hayley SCANLON (Film critic)
Kei ISHIKAWA (Director)

Nippon Visions Jury Award Competition Films

Ando by Yoshiaki ARAI
AT THE LOVEHOTEL by Santa IKEGAME
Cosmo Corpus by Yokna HASEGAWA
Dawn Chorus by Yoshinori SATO
The Deepest Space in Us by Yasutomo CHIKUMA
Kaneko Fumiko by Sachi HAMANO
Kiiroiko by Mika IMAI
Long Night by Yui KUSAKARI
Saikai Paradise by Keiko TSURUOKA
A Unique Country in Asia by Kenji YAMAUCHI