Details of this year's newly-established Japan International Contents Festival were announced at a press conference at Tokyo's National Art Centre in downtown Tokyo yesterday.

The festival, nicknamed CoFesta, is the result of several years' planning to consolidate contents events surrounding the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) and TIFFCOM Market.

CoFesta aims to strengthen export of Japanese contents including movies, animation, music and games, as well as attract foreign contents businesses hoping to penetrate the Japanese market.

A total of 13 events are scheduled to run from September 20 to October 28 in Tokyo and Chiba prefecture, including TIFF, now in its 20th year, and the fourth edition of the attendant TIFFCOM Asia Pacific Entertainment Market.

Under the CoFesta banner, recently established events such as the CEDEC (Computer Entertainment Suppliers' Association Developers Conference) and the Tokyo Asia Music Market (TAM), in their second and fourth editions respectively, join such long-time events as the ATP Television Awards, established in 1982.

Non-Japanese associations such as the Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA), which holds conferences around the globe, are also part of CoFesta.

'It's important for all the different genres of events to work together,' explained CoFesta's executive producer Yutaka Shigenobu. Shigenobu also stated a three-year goal of opening the events concurrently in a shorter 16-day time frame to attract foreign visitors.

Famed film composer Jo Hisaishi (Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away) has produced theme music for the event's ceremony while noted graphic designer Kashiwa Sato has created CoFesta's logo.

CoFesta Events:
September 9: Opening Ceremony
September 20-23: Tokyo Game Show
September 24-28: DiGRA (Digital Games Research Association)
September 26-28: CEDEC
October 4-7: Japan Animation Contents Meeting
October 12-14: ASIAGRAPH (CG Seminars and Exhibition)
October 15-19: TAM (Tokyo Asia Music Market)
October 20-28: Tokyo International Film Festival
October 22-24: TIFFCOM
October 20-28: Akihabara Entamatsuri
October 23-29: Japan Prize (International Education Program Contest)
October 23: ATP Televsion Awards
October 25-26: Tokyo Contents Market (computer animation, games, characters)

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