# 32nd Japan Academy Film Prize

The 32nd Japan Academy Film Prize (第32回日本アカデミー賞) ceremony was held by the Japan Academy Prize Association to honor its selection of the best films of 2008 on February 20, 2009. NTV broadcast the event, which took place at the Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa in Tokyo, Japan. The nominations for the Awards were announced on December 18, 2008.

## Nominees
### Awards

| Picture of the Year | Animation of the Year |
| Departures Kabei: Our Mother Climber's High The Magic Hour Suspect X | Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea Doraemon: Nobita and the Green Giant Legend 2008 The Sky Crawlers Detective Conan: Full Score of Fear One Piece The Movie: Episode of Chopper Plus: Bloom in the Winter, Miracle Sakura |
| Director of the Year | Screenplay of the Year |
| Yōjirō Takita – Departures Tetsuya Nakashima – Paco and the Magical Book Masato Harada – Climber's High Kōki Mitani – The Magic Hour Yoji Yamada – Kabei: Our Mother | Kundō Koyama – Departures Kenji Uchida – After School Masato Katō, Izuru Narushima, Masato Harada – Climber's High Kōki Mitani – The Magic Hour Yoji Yamada and Emiko Hiramatsu – Kabei: Our Mother |
| Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role | Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role |
| Masahiro Motoki – Departures Kōichi Satō – The Magic Hour Shinichi Tsutsumi – Climber's High Kenichi Matsuyama – Detroit Metal City Kōji Yakusho – Paco and the Magical Book | Tae Kimura – All Around Us Yukie Nakama – Watashi wa Kai ni Naritai Ryōko Hirosue – Departures Sayuri Yoshinaga – Kabei: Our Mother, Maboroshi no Yamataikoku |
| Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role | Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role |
| Tsutomu Yamazaki – Departures Tadanobu Asano – Kabei: Our Mother Masato Sakai – Climber's High Shinichi Tsutsumi – Suspect X Yasufumi Terawaki – Aibō the Movie | Kimiko Yo – Departures Kirin Kiki – Still Walking Rei Dan – Kabei: Our Mother Yasuko Matsuyuki – Detroit Metal City, Suspect X |
| Popularity Award | Newcomer of the Year |
| Suspect X (Production Category) Kenichi Matsuyama – Detroit Metal City (Actor Category) | Teppei Koike – The Homeless Student Shota Matsuda – Ikigami Ayaka Wilson – Paco and the Magical Book Ayane Nagabuchi – Sanbongi Nōgyō Koukou, Bajutsubu: Mōmoku no Uma to Shōjo no Jitsuwa Saki Fukuda – Sakura no Sono Yuriko Yoshitaka – Snakes and Earrings |
| Outstanding Achievement in Music | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography |
| Joe Hisaishi – Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea Kiyoko Ogino – The Magic Hour Gabriele Roberto – Paco and the Magical Book Isao Tomita – Kabei: Our Mother Joe Hisaishi – Departures | Takeshi Hamada – Departures Shōichi Atō and Atsushi Ozawa – Paco and the Magical Book Gen Kobayashi – Climber's High Mutsuo Naganuma – Kabei: Our Mother Kōsuke Matsushima – Watashi wa Kai ni Naritai |
| Outstanding Achievement in Lighting Direction | Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction |
| Hitoshi Takaya – Departures Susumu Takakura – Paco and the Magical Book Naoyuki Hori – Climber's High Takeshi Nakasu – Kabei: Our Mother Tarō Kimura – Watashi wa Kai ni Naritai | Towako Kuwajima – Paco and the Magical Book Fumio Ogawa – Departures Yōhei Taneda – The Magic Hour Mitsuo Degawa – Kabei: Our Mother Katsuhiro Fukuzawa – Climber's High |
| Outstanding Achievement in Sound Recording | Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing |
| Satoshi Ono and Osamu Onodera – Departures Kazumi Kishida – Kabei: Our Mother Tetsuo Segawa – The Magic Hour Shin Fukuda and Tadao Tasai – Paco and the Magical Book Masato Yano – Climber's High | Masaaki Kawashima – Departures Iwao Ishii – Kabei: Our Mother Sōichi Ueno – The Magic Hour Yoshiyuki Koike – Paco and the Magical Book Hiroshi Sunaga and Yūjin Harada – Climber's High |
| Outstanding Foreign Language Film | Special Award from the Chairman |
| The Dark Knight The Bucket List No Country for Old Men Lust, Caution Red Cliff Part I | Kon Ichikawa (Director) Ken Ogata (Actor) |
| Shigeru Okada Prize | Special Award from the Association |
| Studio Ghibli | Satoshi Narumi (Physical Effect) Hiroyuki Hatori (Physical Effect) Tadaomi Miya (Dog Trainer) |