report

Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the volunteers and interns who participated in this year’s festival. None of this would have been possible without your hard work and endless dedication. To those who endured the hectic hustle and bustle of the back staff room, though you were behind the scenes most of the time, your efforts did not go unnoticed. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We hope to see you all again next year!

After a fantastic week of screenings the 2007 Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia ended with the 9^th annual Awards Ceremony. The event took place at Meiji Jingue Jingue Kaikan on this misty afternoon. But the wet weather didn’t stop the vans and buses full of people from lining up out front.

The press were anxiously waiting with their cameras in position for the various celebrities and filmmakers to appear on the red carpet. The arrival of guests brought about a fury of camera flashing while Mr. Bessho greeted them at the entrance. Everyone was eager to see the famous faces!

One filmmaker exclaimed, “This is like the Academy Awards®!,” as he walked into the grand theater.

The seats soon filled up with people from all walks of life-everyone eager to know just one thing…who will win the prestigious Grand Prix? As the lights dimmed we were taken down memory lane with the 2007 SSFF digest that appeared on the big screen. From the filmmaker’s arrival to the Welcome Dinner, we realized how quickly these people who were strangers a mere week ago have become our good friends. This was followed by clips of a few highlights from the Opening Event which took place on June 25^th.  

This year’s MCs, Chris Peppler and Izumi Mori introduced the five Jury Members who were greeted with a warm round of applause. Mr. Robin Mallick, one of the jury members, gave a brief speech about this year’s amazing selection of short films. We hope everyone who attended the festival felt the same way.

The audience was then treated to a clip of “Tengu Gaiden” by last year’s Asahi Super Dry Award winner, Mr. Hidetoshi Oneda. The cast, including Chiaki Kuriyama, Mickey Curtis, J-West and Mr. Oneda’s sister came up on stage and talked about their experiences working on the set.

After the screening of a few past short films, the winners of this year’s Short Shorts Film Festival were announced by the Jury Members. And they are…

The AI-D program was a wonderful collection of films from around the world.

There were films from Korea, Iran, China, Thailand, Taiwan, India and Singapore.  The films were a varied collection of different and unique styles of film and each had an interesting story and idea behind them and included two animations, experimental, drama and action films.  As we open the theater and let the audience members enter the theater everyone was checking out the catalogues and talking about the films they would see.  The audience members entered the theater, the lights dimmed and the screening began.

During the screening the audience members really enjoyed the films and they laughed at the right moments, got excited, and connected to the dramas and storylines.  After the screening ended there was a round of applause and the visiting directors were invited on stage.  We had a Question and Answer session with Gitanjali Rao the director of "Printed Rainbow" and Jerry Chan the director of "Fast Money".

Gitanjali began the session by explaining that she created her animation all by herself over the course of three years and was animated entirely on her computer.  She made a beautiful film and based it's main character on her own mother.  She also mentioned that she is currently developing a feature animation film. 

Jerry Chan said that he was inspired by and grew up watching Kung Fu films from a young age.  His film is an urban drama about an Asian gang and stars Archie Kao (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation).  Jerry has also recently made another short film called DJ:L.A which tries to capture DJ turntable techniques on film and he also has a feature film in development.

The AI-D program is filled with many great films and the attending filmmakers gave some interesting answers to questions and gave the audience a special experience.  SSFF would like to thank the audience for attending and thank the filmmakers for making their wonderful films and giving an informative and entertaining Q & A.

Today at Cinemavera we screened the Asia-International B Program. There were eight films including “Painter”, “White Storks”, and “In the Elevator”. This 3pm showing brought in a pretty big crowd despite the wet weather. It seems like everyone is eager to screen the latest short films from around the world!

After the credits rolled on the last film, our MCs introduced the filmmakers who attended the program-Keke Tumbuan (“The Big Day”), Noppadol Suneta (“3 Minutes”) and Vasant Nath (“Shanu Taxi”) participated in the brief Q & A session. Ms. Tumbuan talked about the difficulties she faced while shooting the traffic scene. As for funding, she was lucky enough to be sponsored by the beauty company, LUX. Mr. Suneta, made his film with a budget of about 30,000 yen (approx. $300) and had to bribe police officers to let him film certain scenes. For examply the boxing scene was an actual boxing match. Finally, Mr. Nath surprised us all by introducing his film in Japanese. He said that it has always been his dream to do so and he seemed very grateful to be here in Tokyo.

We hope everyone enjoyed the program!

Today we had some fantastic films from all over Asia in our Asia International C Program. Among the competition were, “There was a Moon and a Fox” and animation from Iran, the creepy “Bleach” from India and “Be Quiet, Exam is in Progress.”

We had three filmmakers, Mike Standish (“Fortune Hunters”), Wei Keong Tan (“White”) and Teerapol Suneta (“Memories”) who came all the way from the US, Singapore and Thailand who came all the way to Tokyo to talk about their films and participate in a Q & A session.

Mr. Standish is the producer of “Fortune Hunters” and it was his first film. He said that he learned a lot by diving in head first and doing as much can. He was fortunate enough to be surrounded by very experienced people in the film industry. Mr. Tan’s message in his film was, “although change is easy, it’s not always easy to change back.” He talked about how Singapore is becoming a melting pot and everyone is searching for an identity. He hopes to send a positive message to young people through his film. The Suneta brothers made “Memories”, a film about the relationship between a daughter and her father who has Alzheimer to show the importance of caring for those with the terrible disease. It was obvious that all three put their blood sweat and tears into their work.

We hope all you future filmmakers learned a thing or two from our guests!

Today was the first day of screenings at our satellite location at Cinemavera in Shibuya.  There was a large line waiting for the show to start and there was a great turnout.  The first screening at Cinemavera was the AI-A program and was also attended by the directors of “Mei” and “To Be Or Not To Be”. 

The AI-A program has many unique films including the animation “Zero Degree” from Iran and the experimental films “Flight 208” and “DIY” which is a unique musical/dance film by the esteemed short film director Royston Tan.  After the screening was over the audience erupted into applause and Arvin Chen the director of “Mei and Jungjin Kim the director of “To Be Or Not To Be” were welcomed on stage for the Q & A.  Arvin began by talking about the production of his film which he filmed in Taiwan over the course of four days as his graduate thesis film.  His film catches a glimpse of the lives of two young Taiwanese noodle stand employees and their feelings about their common circumstances.  Speaking of circumstance, the film ”To Be Or Not To Be” is about a man in a very interesting circumstance.  It is about a man who is in his car at the edge of a cliff determined to kill himself, but he just can’t seem to do it no matter what he does.  The director of the film, Jungjim Kim, talked about how she was working a normal 9 to 5 job and then quit it in her pursuit of filmmaking.  She is dedicated to her art and that is obvious when you watch the film. 

The AI-A program was a great screening and it was a wonderful opportunity that brought together an international audience, filmmakers and provided an opportunity to share art, stories, views, opinions and experiences from around the world.  The films give a window into the filmmaker’s worlds and the audiences finish the film process by sharing in the film experience which is what makes it all worth while.

The SSFF staff along with filmmakers gathered at Omotesando to participate in Sweepers, a Short Shorts Film Festival tradition that gives thanks to the people who support our festival each year. A non-profit organization called Greenbird, who keep the streets of Omotesando sparkling, provided us with the cleaning materials. One of our sponsors, PASONA, also came with a group of about 50 members.

After taking a group photo we split up into four large groups. As we walked up the street there was barely anything to pick up- it was virtually spotless.

“This is the cleanest street in the world!” exclaimed one filmmaker.

The only “real trash” was an abandoned vacuum cleaner that Mr. Bessho found. When it was finally time to go back, our trash bags contained just a few cigarette buds and gum wrappers. It was obvious that the people of Greenbird are doing a fantastic job. We were all very impressed by their effort and dedication.

Mr. Bessho wrapped things up with a few words of thanks and the filmmakers headed to PASONA lounge for refreshments and a light snack. When looked back on Omotesando we couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride as the Short Shorts Flags billowed in the wind along the long beautiful street.

Tonight was the opening night of the long awaited all night screening at Roppongi Hills Toho Cinema. Tickets sold out for the much anticipated “893239” (23 Wards of Tokyo) and the crowd was anxious to watch the films that received an astounding 650,000 hits on YouTube. Mr. Tsujimoto, producer of the yakuza series, gave us a brief introduction of the films then it was showtime!

The premise of this series was to make a short film about yakuzas in each of the 23 wards in Tokyo. The films ranged from a comedy about a group of yakuzas forming a baseball team to a serious drama about a drug addict whose performance was so realistic that it had staff members wondering, “Was he a real addict?” If not, he did an amazing job and had us all fooled.

Next came the Japan B Program. Although it was past 1am, filmmakers and their fans lined up to screen the films. Each film ended with a big round of applause from the audience.

By the time the Japan A Program began, the birds were chirping outside but faithful fans remained in their seats and not one person nodded off in their seats. The all night screening ended around 5am and the crowd filed out onto Roppongi Dori to catch the first train. Thank you all for your support!

This year, the Welcome Dinner for International, Asian and Japanese filmmakers took place at “Sakura” in Meiji-jingue mae. The dinner kicked off at 8pm, right after the International Program I-E. Filmmakers from all over the world including India, Norway and Mexico got together to celebrate the 9^th Short Shorts Film Festival.

The place was packed with people wining and dining and having a great time. The Japanese restaurant instantly filled with a cool international vibe. Mr. Bessho began by introducing the SSFF staff and special guests including actor Yoo Jitae then everyone lined up to take advantage of the 2 hour all-you-can-drink bar.

The amazing array of food included all you can eat crispy tempura, fresh sushi, soba and various desserts were so beautifully displayed we hesitated before laying our hands on them. Entertainment was provided by a two person musical group and the crowd swayed to their soft, soothing voices. As more alcohol flowed the language barrier between the international group broke and everyone was able to communicate with one another without much difficulty. They say time flies when you’re having fun and this was definitely the case tonight-before we knew it it was time to leave Sakura.

Those who thought they’d be able to go back to the hotel to get some much needed sleep were in for a big surprise. The night was young and talk about an after party ensued. Forty or so of us piled into taxies and headed to Muse, a bar/club in Nishi-Azabu. We partied until the wee hours of the morning, wondering how we will possibly wake up the next morning for Sweepers. Anyways, let’s just say Tokyo lived up to its reputation as the “city that never sleeps.”

What happens in Tokyo stays in Tokyo...