The quality of Asian short films have been increasing exponentially during the last few years, with the necessity to cut down on production size due to Covid actually giving a number of directors the opportunity to shine in the format. Shorts Shorts Film Festival and Asia highlights the fact with an impressive selection for their 20th anniversary, with one of the dominant trends of this year having Japanese actors directing their own films, with Kengo Kora and Hiroshi Tamaki being two among a number. Our coverage of the festival includes a number of reviews and interviews, beginning with one with the director of SSFF & Asia, which sheds a very thorough light to a number of details regarding how the whole thing works.
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1. AMP Video Interviews: Shoko Takegasa
2. Short Film Review: Courier (2023) by Kengo Kora
To begin with, the thing the viewer will probably first notice is the impressive cast, with Tasuku Emoto playing the owner of the shop, Shota Sometani Hide, Ryuichi Hiroki the director of the film, and of course, Ayumu Nakajima Maru. Add to that the fact that Kengo Kora himself also appears briefly, and you have one of the most impressive casts we have seen in a short film. Furthermore, all the performances are quite good, in a style of measured realism, with Nakajima having the most time on screen and splitting it between riding a bike and interacting with various individuals. Probably the scene that stands out in his acting is the one where he watches the movie shooting, with a sense of longing (perhaps a missed dream) passing in his eyes.
3. Asian Movie Pulse Video Interviews: Kengo Kora
4. Short Film Review: Aufguss (2022) by Daigo Matsui
5. Asian Movie Pulse Video Interviews: Daigo Matsui
6. Short Film Review: You Are Lit (2022) by Momoko Fukuda
Despite the permeating quirkiness and Japanese style of absurd comedy, what Momoko Fukuda has shot with “You Are Lit” is actually a polemic film that turns against a number of preconceptions that are what make Japan conservative, patriarchal, and essentially, racist. The insistence with how people should look, behave, act, and that both men and women must take very particular paths in life in order to avoid standing out, which seems to be a cardinal sin in Japanese society, is criticized thoroughly throughout the movie. That these preconceptions have come to dominate life in general, with the people who do not abide by the “rules” deemed pariahs and are ostracized is presented through the plethora of episodes in the movie, with Fukuda managing a very appealing balance among comedy, absurdness and rather serious commentary.
7. Asian Movie Pulse Video Interviews: Momoko Fukuda
8. Short Film Review: The Scavenger (2022) by Manish Saini
Manish Saini directs a film that revolves around three contextual axes, which are actually interconnected. The first one is the lives of the poor in India, as mirrored in the old man and the people around him, all of which seem to barely make a living, surviving in extreme poverty and without any particular hope for a better future. Kids lying in the street, poor mongers of whatever, rundown houses, all create a setting that looks like it came out of a hardcore drama, but is actually one of the harsh realities of India. The second axis, which derives from the first, is the extremes people reach in order to survive in such a setting, with the old man's actions, which is essentially stealing from the dead, seeming like a cardinal sin in his case, as the secrecy with which he takes the clothes signifies (according to the director, It is inauspicious and taboo to wear the clothes of the dead, they are left unattended, tossed and dumped in the corners of crematoriums and funeral grounds. Furthermore, he is not informing his customers, which is considered a sin as much as crime in some parts of North India). The third one is the concept of crime and punishment, which, in this case, gains a karmic hypostasis due to the death of the children, although the ending signifies that not even that is enough in the face of actually making
9. Short Film Review: A Short Story (2022) by Bi Gan
The questions posed are straightforward, but the fragmented campfire story narrative doesn't provide easy answers. Bi seems most concerned with the double-sided nature of life: a woman does everything she can to forget her painful memories but loses the joyous ones as well; an automaton can say only “Hello” and “Goodbye” as it hands out candies as delicious as they are harsh. By the time the credits roll, the most precious thing in the world seems both closer than ever and as unclear as it was in the first scene. (Henry McKeand)
10. Short Film Review: COUNT 100 (2023) by Hiroshi Tamaki
Hiroshi Tamaki directs a movie about a man that seems to get his wish granted, only to realize that taking a step back and letting his life unfold without him meddling is not exactly satisfactory, in a rather philosophical comment about life and inaction. Furthermore, Tamaki seems to state that fighting with yourself is a necessary concept in life, although nothing guarantees win. Lastly, the “clone” seems to state what someone must do in order to excel in his own life, with the boxing match scene expressing this comment clearly.
11. Short Film Review: Dream Box (2022) by Naoto Mitake
When it comes to the short's aesthetics, “Dream Box” has a little more to offer. The heightened emotions, the stress, the anger and the overall desperation are emphasized by the performances on the one hand, but even more so by the use of lights, colors and Hans Babanovits‘ cinematography. Therefore, some scenes look very pretty and interesting, which may suggest that this short is one of the many favoring style over substance. (Rouven Linnarz)
12. Short Film Review: Towards the Night (2022) by Saeed Keshavarz
First and foremost, the direction of this short film is exquisite, with Saeid making the most out of dark inky hues and wardrobe, coupled with melancholic sound production of shrieks and wails to create a sad little story of familial discord that evokes plenty of depressive sentiments. The flow of the picture is at breakneck speed, as dialogues go, and understanding the context of the narrative takes a little effort as the events unfold over a short period of time. (Leon Overee)
13. Short Film Review: Dark9 Community (2023) by Yuhe Lu and Wade Chao
At a little under seven minutes, “Dark9 Community” has quite a lot to offer for the audience and may just be an excellent calling card for its directors. The main reason is the shift in tone, from hectic to tense, and the blend of various themes and approaches, which may seem chaotic at first, but turns out to be quite entertaining in the end. While the first minutes play more like a blend of music video and satire on the idea of authenticity in the celebrity world, the second half is strongly reminiscent of the kind of gangster flick Asian cinema, especially China and Hong Kong, have become famous for with international audiences. (Rouven Linnarz)
14. Short Review: New Generation (2023) by Hiroho Mieno
Overall, “New Generation” is a fairly enjoyable genre movie. The main aspect of it is a rather engrossing mystery that immediately brings us into the storyline quite well. Focused around the series of quick glimpses toward Hikari that sees her body morphing into bizarre inhuman deformities only to quickly dismiss it all as his mind playing tricks on him, the atmosphere present is quite intriguing. As the sequences are laced with scenes of UFOs floating over buildings casually or Hikari's bumbling of normal human interactions that go beyond normal training deficiencies that comprise the majority of the misunderstandings, the idea present here is quite ominous and potentially chilling. That gets enhanced rather nicely with the full reveal at the end when the atmosphere has switched over to a rather striking gore effect that comes off quite shockingly with no build-up to it. These factors bring about a lot to really like here. (Don Anelli)
15. Short Film Review: Strange (2023) by Ken Ochiai
Ken Ochiai directs a very intelligent 15-minute-short, particularly because he manages to avoid all the cliche reefs that such a story could entail. In that fashion, there is no romantic association between the two protagonists, the young boy does not want to become an artist but an accountant, while Kuma does not become a victim of violence, even if some verbal notions of it do exist.
16. Asian Movie Pulse Video Interviews: Ken Ochiai
17. Short Film Review: Scapegoat (2022) by Shun Tachizono
Despite the low budget and relative inexperience of those behind the camera, “Scapegoat” is clearly the product of a skilled, dedicated director. Like his teachers Kurosawa and Suwa, Tachizono favors long, stationary shots that reveal greater depth the longer you look at them. These painterly compositions are evocative and impressive, especially for a moviemaker just beginning his cinematic journey. (Henry McKeand)
18. Short Film Review: Seen (2022) by Shinji Hamasaki
Shinji Hamasaki directs a delightful, even if somewhat dark short, in which he manages to communicate a number of very realistic and pointed comments, in the 24 minutes the movie lasts. The way appearance affects the life of people is obviously the most central one, in a remark that shows the shallowness of the majority of people, who can barely see beyond appearances. The various way bullying works, which actually extends to the life stories of both protagonists, is also commented upon, with the role social media play in the whole concept being highlighted in the most pointed way possible, as much as the lack of privacy SNS and smartphones have brought. That people find themselves going to extreme measures to change their appearance is also depicted, although through a metaphor, as much as the futility of such deeds. Lastly, the depiction of Fumi's exhaustion while drawing manga and the fact that she is awake in the dead of the night, which is how she meets Tatsuya, conclude the rather rich context here through a subtle remark on how the particular industry works.
19. Short Film Review: Kaiju Girl (2022) by Takafumi Sakabe
Although it is certainly a love letter to the genre, director Sakabe explains in his statement about the feature that his aim was to “express the overflowing energy of a child around the age of 14” as well as the “anxiety” in the aftermath of the pandemic, the wars in the world and the rise of the Internet. With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that the focus of the story lies with its teenage protagonists as they find ways to deal with the catastrophe which occurred just a few kilometers away from them. The monster itself, while present in a few scenes and, of course, as the small-scale models in the studio, becomes more of a metaphor, much like the original Godzilla itself, for fears and anxieties in the face of a profound change, which, again, stays true to the core of the kaiju-genre as a whole. (Rouven Linnarz)
20. Short Film Review: Bubbling (2023) by Chang Che-Ming
One of the best “trends” of recent Asian queer films is that they are getting more and more grounded to reality, with Chang Che-ming also following the “recipe” in his presentation of the first romantic notions of a high school student. And I say “a student” because obviously Shane Hao is more experienced and thus, open, with the difference in overall demeanor between the two creating a very appealing antithesis here. Also of note is the fact that the movie goes beyond the romance, with the discussion presented entering paths of religion, politics and philosophy, while never touching the queer elephant in the room, in an approach that is peculiar.
21. Short Film Review: Aufguss (2022) by Daigo Matsui
The etchings of whimsy Japanese humor are plastered throughout with how the film presents bare-bottomed nudity next to the aufguss ceremony which is as strange as it sounds. The guests lounge around and stare into blank spaces, taking in the bliss surrounding them. The environs offer them a respite from the toils of life. And likewise, the viewer is brought into an evocative thought space of mindfulness. Are we living the best life we could? Do we stop to smell the roses? Is there more to life? (Leon Overee)
