SSFF & ASIA will join the “Ibaraki Short Film Awards,” sponsored by the province of Ibaraki, to host its awards ceremony and screening of nominated films. This award was established to celebrate and spread through film the charms of Ibaraki, with its scenery, culture, and cuisine, and to promote screen tourism. Since this past August when we opened our general submissions call, we have received 71 films. In addition to the festival, there will be special facilities like libraries with information on other locales. We are also planning the delivery and screening of the Iba-Chira TV.
Once again, I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to announce the winner of the Ibaraki Short Film Award at Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2016. Ibaraki prefecture is gaining popularity as one of the leading film locations in Japan. It has a diverse and beautiful coastline, the towering Mt. Tukuba, Lake Kasumigaura and a variety of natural scenery. Additionally, one can observe the thatch roof building and wooden schoolhouses of old Japan and scenery from modern Japan, such as the Ibaraki Governmental Building and Tukuba International Congress Center. With all that it has to offer, Ibaraki prefecture can provide locations that match a variety of scripts. The Ibaraki Short Film Award was created in order to broaden the appeal of Ibaraki’s scenery, culture and food by showcasing it to the rest of Japan through film. It has been exposed to many audiences through Japanese and international film festivals in Sapporo, Osaka, Taiwan and Malaysia, just to name a few. For the Ibaraki Short Film program, which is in its third year running, we have received 71 entries from within the prefecture, as well as other prefectures. From these films, 3 have been nominated for the award and one will be chosen as the winner. The hope is that through film, this award will promote tourism amongst the audience, as well as open doors for talented filmmakers and help them receive global recognition.
IBARAKI Location Tours 2015/10/14 WED
JURY
Mineko Orisaku (Photographer)
Tetsuya Bessho (President of Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia / Actor)
The Jurors are listed in order of the Japanese phonetic alphabet.