Best Short Awards winners of Live Action, Non-Fiction and Animation Competition are eligible to be shortlisted for next year’s OSCARS®!
Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (SSFF & ASIA), one of the biggest international short film festivals in Asia, will begin accepting submissions for the 2024 edition on Tuesday, August 1, 2023. See their website for further details.
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For SSFF & ASIA, which celebrated their 25th anniversary in June this year, 5196 short films from 120 countries and regions around the world were submitted and approximately 200 were screened during the festival.
In 2004, SSFF & ASIA, became an ACADEMY AWARD® accredited film festival and has submitted the festival’s Grand Prix film as eligible for nomination at the OSCARS® the following year. In 2019, this was expanded to include the Best Short Award winners from the Live Action Competitions in the International, Asia International, and Japan categories, as well as the best short from the Non-Fiction category. In 2021, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that the SSFF & ASIA would be able to submit for nomination from the Animation category for a total of five Best Short Award-winning short films that will be given a chance to possibly win an OSCAR® next year!
SSFF & ASIA are the only international short film festival in Japan that is accredited by the ACADEMY AWARDS®. Along with other OSCAR®-qualifying film festivals that can submit 5 films like the Sundance Film Festival, the Palm Springs International Film Festival, and the Aspen Shortsfest, SSFF & ASIA have taken another step forward as a top tier international film festival.
In addition to the Live Action Competitions, the Non-Fiction Competition and Animation Competition, there are the Cinematic Tokyo Competition, films with Tokyo as the central theme and the Smartphone Competition to expand the range of visual expression and opportunities for creators with the aim to encourage new visual creativity unique to smartphones. SSFF & ASIA have also started calling for entries for the BRANDED SHORTS, which feature branded movies by companies and organizations.
Kodansha will pay 10,000,000 JPY – Calling for short film pitches
The Kodansha Cinema Creators’ Lab is calling out for short film pitches with the aim of discovering new filmmakers from around the world. They will award ¥10,000,000 for a creator to make a short film and after the film is completed, SSFF & ASIA will submit the film to film festivals all over the world.
The submissions from a wide range of creators including not only filmmakers but also artists and screenwriters with brilliant ideas are welcomed. The best pitch projects will be announced at SSFF & ASIA 2024 which will be held in June, 2024. SSFF & ASIA are accredited by the ACADEMY AWARDS® and are one of the biggest international short film festivals in Asia.
Kodansha’s purpose is “Inspire Impossible Stories”. They are looking forward to receiving pitches from visual creators who want to work together to create an impossible story that will inspire the world and someone’s heart! Payment will be made in accordance with a separately concluded contract.
SSFF & ASIA in 2024 are looking forward to encountering many fantastic short films!
＜SSFF & ASIA 2024 Competitions Guideline＞
- Submission Competitions: Live Action Competition, Non-Fiction Competition, Animation Competition, Cinematic Tokyo Competition, Smartphone Competition, BRANDED SHORTS, Kodansha Cinema Creators Lab, BOOK SHORTS Award.
- Submission period: from Tuesday, August 1, 2023, 02:00PM (JST).
*Submission deadlines vary by category - For details on how to submit: See SSFF & ASIA 2024 Submission Page.
- Selection Announcements: For the Live Action Competition, Non-Fiction Competition and Animation Competition, shortlists will be announced on SSFF & ASIA website every month beginning in October. The final selections will be chosen from among the shortlisted films. The final selections from all competitions (films to be screened at the film festival), will be announced on the website by the end of April 2023.
