Archive 2011

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The festival in two cities here in Japan and abroad.

The festival was held once again in the same two locations as last year, Tokyo and Yokohama. In September from the 1st to the 9th, the festival will be held in Mexico City and marks the 6th year there. SSFF Malaysia will be held again in order to establish a strong foundation in Asia from November 11th through the 13th.

We received over 4,200 submissions from 104 countries around the world.

In 2011, the festival received over 4200 submissions from 104 countries around the world. Due to the increase in the number of HD quality short films, the festival committee decided to project all the programs in HD format.

Collaborations with other Short Film Festivals

In order to explore the short film circuit in Asia, SSFF & ASIA has collaborated with two Asian film festivals, the Kaohsiung Film Festival in Taiwan and the Asiana International Short Film Festival in Korea. We held an exchange program of short films with the Kaohsiung FF that was received very well on both sides. With the AISFF, the "Japan-Korea Tourism Promotion Project" was established as part of our "Let's Travel! Project" and in order to raise the level of this new program, the "Travelling Shorts in Korea" was established there. We then held an exchange program of each other's travel shorts.

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Competition Programs

International Competition

3065 short films from 16 countries were submitted and 35 nominated short films were screened. In addition, the International Competition presented 3 "special invitation" shorts; "Steve" starring Colin Firth of "The King's Speech" and Keira Knightley of "Pirates of the Caribbean", and directed by Rupert Friend of "Pride & Prejudice", "someboys don't leave" which stars Jesse Eisenberg of "The Social Network", and "Sparks" directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, one of the stars of "Inception".

Asia International Competition

585 short films from 17 Asian countries were submitted out of which 17 short films were screened. The selected shorts were from a wide variety of genres; animation, experimental, romance, and others. As "special invitation" short films, SSFFA presented "Night Fishing," directed by the newly formed team of director Chan-wook Park ("Old Boy") and his brother Chan-kyong Park, and "Madam Butterfly" directed by renown Taiwanese director Ming-Liang Tsai of "I don't want to sleep alone".

Japan Competition

343 short films, far more than 2010, were submitted and 16 shorts were selected. Along with the increasing number of short films shot on HD and shorts from Japan that have won awards at foreign film festivals, the Japan Competition has raised the bar with its outstanding line-up.

Stop! Global Warming Competition

2011 marks the 4th edition of this competition and in collaboration with the "Challenge 25 Campaign" (Ministry of the Environment), we called for submissions from around the world and screened 13 carefully selected shorts out of 282 that were submitted. In addition, as a "special screening," "Green Film Project "everyday" ", starring Ryo Kase and Yoko Maki, was shown again. Continuing from last year, radio station J-WAVE participated in support of this competition. The "J-WAVE Award" was once again conferred to the winner selected by a jury comprised of J-WAVE listeners.

Let’s Travel! Project

With continuous support from the Japan Travel Agency (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism), the project is in its 2nd round and called for short films that depicted frame by frame the appeal and allure of travel in Japan. 7 selected short films out of 86 submissions were screened. After the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, the concept of this project has become more and more important for Japan and there has been a great increase in public awareness of this project. Two Japan-Korea co-production shorts, created under the new project "Japan-Korea Tourism Promotion Project", held their world premieres: "Smile Bus" shot in Kamakura and Fujisawa, starring Gun Hyung Park, Hyun Kyung Ryu, and Yohji Tanaka, and "Super Star" shot in Korea, starring Atsuko Sakurai, and Eung Soon Kim.

NEO JAPAN Program

As the number of Japanese submissions has risen over the years, 2011 was a festival record year with 343. In order to achieve our goal to provide more opportunities for as many Japanese filmmakers as possible to showcase their short films, NEO JAPAN introduced new and talented Japanese filmmakers and their short films.

Music Short Competition

[Japan Music Shorts]
The 2nd edition of the popular "Music Shorts" featured many music videos made in a short film format. There was quite a variety of music shorts again this year starting with "Silent Scream" written by Hiro Mizushima for a song by GIRL NEXT DOOR, Chiaki Kuriyama's "COLD FINGER GIRL ROCK SHORT FILM," and as original shorts, pieces inspired by the songs of Every Little Thing, SAKANAKUTION, clammbon and more. SSFF also collaborated with the hugely popular J-pop artist, Superfly and made a special production short "The Eclipse's Shadow," directed by Shiro Tokiwa, starring Tatsuomi Hamada, Hirofumi Arai, Nao Minamisawa, Tomorowo Taguchi. The short was inspired by a new Superfly track titled "Ah." The film had its world premiere at SSFF & ASIA 2011.

[Korean Music Shorts]
Korean music video director Jae-hyuk Jang made an appearance again to talk about his music videos including "Aishiteru U" starring In-gook Seo and "2 Different Tears" by Wonder Girls. Masayuki Furuya hosted with the latest news and information on the Korean music video scene as well as revealing the roots and the appeal of the Korean music videos that have a distinct dramatic flair.

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Special Programs

3D Competition supported by SHARP

In this program, from futuristic settings to young love stories to animations that made you get up and dance, one could experience it all and be immersed in the fantasy world and variety of 3D entertainment. Short films that utilized the latest filmmaking technology with production that places emphasis on viewing 3D in comfort, you won't want to miss the latest in 3D filmmaking. In addition to the competition shorts, the Best Short Award from the "Smart Phone 3D Contest – CG/Animation Category," supported by SHARP, was automatically nominated for the Best Short Award in the 3D Competition category. There were also events featuring film directors, Takashi Yamazaki ("ALWAYS: Sunset　on Third Street") and Mamoru Oshii ("GHOST IN THE SHELL") as well as a seminar led by a panel of guests who are leaders in the field of 3D filmmaking.

CG Program

A showcase of world level CG shorts has been selected including the 2010 Academy Award ® winning animated short. In collaboration with Digital Hollywood, the leading university for IT and digital content learning, we will introduce to the world the talented creators of Japan. The program provided the opportunity to enjoy the unique and dramatic world of short films enhanced by the dynamic possibilities of CG filmmaking as well as experience the latest in filmmaking technology in this fascinating program.

EOS MOVIE Program

In collaboration with Canon, the festival established the "EOS MOVIE Program" to showcase high quality short films shot using the "EOS" camera. For the program, 5 carefully selected "EOS MOVIE" shorts made here in Japan were screened.

Football Program presented by J. LEAGUE

As part of the 20th anniversary of J. League, J. LEAGUE and SSFF & ASIA collaborated to establish a special "Football Program" that showcased short films with "football" as a theme & shorts were gathered from all over the world. The collaboration will continue over the next two years to demonstrate the power of sports through short films.

Kiryu Program

The Kiryu Film Festival, held in July, 2011, was inaugurated to celebrate the establishment of the city of Kiryu in Gumma Prefecture and as well as celebrating the 55th anniversary of the Junior Chamber International Kiryu. Four original short films were screened including a documentary on Jun Takahashi, designer of the popular brand "UNDERCOVER," as well as three short films that were filmed in the city of Kiryu by up and coming directors whose own short films were nominated for and/or won an award at the SSFF & ASIA.

Travelling Shorts in Korea

Last November in Seoul at the Asiana International Short Film Festival, there was a special screening of the "Let's Travel! Project" program, created in partnership with the Japan Tourism Agency (Ministry of Land Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism) to show the appeal of travel in Japan. At the same time, with "travel" as the central theme, we have created a cultural exchange with the "Traveling Shorts in Korea" category and screened the selected short films. The SSFF & ASIA, as part of the Japan-Korea Tourism Promotion project with the Japan Tourism Agency, once again held a special screening of the AISFF exchange program, the "Travelling Shorts in Korea."

Korean Event

The panel discussion featured guests who participated in the making of the Japan-Korea Tourism Promotion Project short films, "Super Star" (Atsuko Sakurai, Eung Soo Kim, Kentaro Hagiwara) and "Smile Bus" (Gun Hyung Park, Hyun Kyoung Ryu, Yoji Tanaka, Sangjoon Park) and there were revealing "making of" stories and the impressions of the various tourist attractions of both countries as seen through the eyes of the filmmaking crew. In addition, there was a discussion of the importance and possibilities of promoting tourism through the use of short films with members of the Asiana International Short Film Festival (AISFF) including the legendary Korean actor, Sung-ki Ahn.

Kaohsiung Film Festival Program

In October 2010, the SSFF & ASIA formed a partnership with the Kaohsiung Film Festival which takes place every year in Kaohsiung, the 2nd biggest city in Taiwan. Japanese shorts as well as a selection of award winners from SSFF & ASIA 2010 were screened at the festival. The Kaohsiung Film Festival features mostly foreign features as well as Taiwanese short films. The SSFF & ASIA 2011 featured as a "special screening" program, the best short films made by young, up-and-coming directors that were chosen by the Kaohsiung Film Festival with the themes "Love Generation" and "Ordinary Heroes."

Italian Program

To celebrate the unification of Italy's 150th anniversary, the program ranged from a film that starred Elio Germano, winner of the Best Actor Award at Cannes in 2010, to a short that featured the "Jewel of Italy," Monica Bellucci, and directed by Gabriele Muccino ("The Pursuit of Happyness"), currently highly in demand in Hollywood, and a rare short film from one of the greatest filmmakers in Italian film history, Michelangelo Antonioni.

Academy Program

SSFF & ASIA, an Academy Awards ® accredited film festival, presented 5 short films nominated at the 83rd Academy Awards ®, including the winning short films. This was a unique opportunity to see the very best from the world of short films.

Celebrity & Maestro Shorts

As more and more short films are made that star or are directed by famous actors and actresses, the festival proudly presented "Celebrity & Maestro Shorts" including Colin Firth's "Steve," "Sparks" directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, "Some boys don't leave" starring Jesse Eisenberg, "Night Fishing" directed by Chan-wook Park, "Madam Butterfly" directed by Ming-liang Tsai, and more.

French Shorts

Once again at Brillia Short Shorts Theater in Yokohama, 5 excellent French shorts from "Le Festival du Film Français au Japon" were screened. A wide variety of shorts from animation to comedy to dramas made by up and coming young French directors were selected for the enjoyment of the audience. There was also a Q&A session with one of the filmmakers.

Short Story Nagoya

This program featured 3 shorts that show the appeal and attractions of Nagoya. By discovering the filmmaking abilities of up and coming directors, we conveyed to the nation the unknown wonders of Nagoya

Seminar

Director Isshin Inudo, winner of Picture of the Year and Director of the Year from the Japan Academy Awards for his 2009 movie "Zero Focus," held a lecture for aspiring filmmakers on the various ways to knock on the door of the filmmaking industry. In the first half, he talked about his experiences with the selection of his student film at the Pia Film Festival, his early days of self-produced filmmaking, and his entry into the industry as director of TV commercials. There was also a screening, along with commentary, of his Kirin Contemporary Award winning live action short and his animated film "Kingyo no isshou." In the second half, along with screenings of his best known commercials, he talked of his subsequent success in feature films, the differences between short films and features, as well as the necessary qualities for making it in the film industry. This was a forum for the encouragement of the young filmmakers who would become the new standard-bearers in the near future.

TOHO CINEMAS Roppongi Hills

All-night screenings were held at the TOHO CINEMAS in Roppongi Hills on June17th and 18th. Beginning with the "NEO JAPAN" program, the special "Italian Program," our very first "CG Program," along with the "Football Program" and "Academy Program" were screened. For NEO JAPAN Programs, filmmakers came to greet the audience.

Opening Event

The opening event took place at Omotesando Hills Space O with the theme "Bring A Smile" with the power of moving images!" For the "Charity Short Project" short film, we invited as special supporter, actor Koichi Sato and adapted the song "Proud" by EMI MARIA. The short film was made by young aspiring filmmaker, Seiichiro Omorii. The completed short film titled "GET UP," has a strong message of hope for the quick recovery of Japan from the natural disasters that struck on 3/11. The Spotlight Award was also presented and actor/director Tatsuya Ishii received the award for his promotional short film "Sasabune". A collaborative project with J. LEAGUE was also announced with special guest, Yasutaro Matsuki.

Award Ceremony

The Award ceremony took place on June 26th with 1,500 spectators in attendance. There were 11 popular and well-known jurists with various special guests including Tatsuomi Hamada (actor), Nao Minamisawa (actress) from "The Eclipse's Shadow" and actress Atsuko Sakurai from "Super Star," among the continuous arrival of celebrities on the red carpet. With an increase in the number of awards, for the first time in the festival history, a Japanese filmmaker received 3 awards from the "STOP! Global Warming Competition."

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Jury

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Awards