Programs

Bravery

This program offers a mix of stories where characters confront personal challenges, take risks, and find their way in the world.

• COMP1

Crossroads

This program brings stories that explore the boundaries of technology, human connection, and personal trials at life’s most poignant crossroads.

The program includes the special screening of Resonance, the winner of Digital frontier Grand Prix 2025, and Live-in the Gaps, Gold Winner of The 5th TYO Student Movie Award.

• COMP2

What It Means to Grow

This program shows the complexities of personal growth, love, and acceptance.

The program includes the special screening of How Do You Measure a Year? (Oscar® nominated) filmmaker Jay Rosenblatt documented his daughter Ella’s growth by filming her each year on her birthday, asking the same questions. We will also screen Monsters, Silver Winner of The 5th TYO Student Movie Award.

• COMP3

The Unexpected Bonds That Shape Us

This program explores the delicate dance between time, love, and the pursuit of connection. Stories of connection, memories, loss, and the ways we try to hold on.

• COMP4

Boundaries

This program shows where the boundaries between the real and the imaginary blur, where the protagonists confront the complexities of tradition, friendship, isolation and adventure. From the fantastical to the crafted real, where one world ends and another begins.

• COMP5

Light and Darkness

Films that contrast darkness and light create captivating and tense stories. These films provide an immersive experience that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

• COMP6

Teen angst, frustration and dreams.

This program explores themes of youth, dreams, and survival, whether deep down the Earth, in a foreign country or far beyond. The burden of broken hope, and the will we have to survive, dream, and connect.

• COMP7

Love isn’t always easy, but it’s always real.

Dive into a collection of films that explore love in its many forms complicated, evolving, painful and protective.
These films take you on an emotional rollercoaster, capturing the beautiful messiness of what it means to care deeply.

• COMP8

Unexpected Encounters

Get ready for a program filled with unexpected moments that turn everything upside down. A deep dive into both the bright and dark sides of the human experience.

• COMP9

It’s Complicated

A mix of supernatural twists, humor, heart, bad decisions, and suspense. This program takes you on an unexpected journey through the complexity of life and relationships.

• COMP10

Pushed to the limits

In this emotional program, the characters are pushed to their limits, struggling with the forces of nature, societal expectations, personal identity and the transformative power of change

• COMP11

Social pressure

This program gathered films that reflect on personal freedom, obsession with material progress, and the weight of societal expectations. The complexities of confronting our pasts in order to shape our futures.

• COMP12

Turbulence

Step into worlds both imagined and painfully real, where children often know more than adults and quiet voices carry the loudest echoes.

• COMP13

Connection

These short films explore the extraordinary ways we connect to each other, to ourselves, and to the world around us. Whether it’s through imagination, through ink, a flight, a traditional craft, or the melody of a song.

• COMP14

Quiet Chaos

In this program, characters navigate the quiet chaos of transformation. Coming of age in unexpected places. Because growing up is never just about age.

The program includes the special screening of Dragfox voiced by Ian McKellen, a celebration of individuality and the freedom to express oneself.

• COMP15

When It Rains, It Pours

The films in this program remind us that life never goes quite as planned and that’s what makes it beautiful.

• COMP16

Facing the Abyss

Apologies, family ties, unspeakable rules, and impossible choices.
Where life meets death, love meets fear, and survival meets sacrifice.

The program has the special screening of All of this Unreal Time, a film starring Cillian Murphy, written by Max Porter, directed by Aoife McArdle (Severance) with music by Aaron & Bryce Dessner (The National) and Jon Hopkins.

• COMP17

Unknown

When the ordinary takes a turn for the absurd.
Welcome to a program where the surreal hides in plain sight, and every little thing might just explode.

• COMP18

Metamorphosis

Transformation in flesh, faith, and family. A program where the characters are all trying to find the shape of their true selves.

The program includes the special screening of Drifting, with a groundbreaking performance from Paul Mescal (Gladiator 2).

• COMP19

Echoes at the Edge

Where wonder, melancholy, and the surreal collide. These short films reveal the quiet beauty of magical realism, generational rituals, and quiet midnight moments. Each story echoes the every day, until it shifts, into something extraordinary.

The program includes the special screening Till Next Time, a film selected from the “Liminal South” program of the Kaohsiung Film Festival, spotlighting new voices from Taiwan.

• COMP20

Fictions We Tell Ourselves

The films in this program, truth is rewritten, it’s performed, ignored, or reshaped. A mirror on how the stories we tell ourselves are the hardest to rewrite.

• COMP21

Turning Points

A program that explore moments of deep personal crisis, these stories explore resistance, unexpected encounters, and the search for meaning.

The special screening includes Miracle Mile, a short film directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, creator, writer, and director of Squid Game

• COMP22

Unexpected Desires

This program explores the hidden desires of its protagonists. From eccentric geniuses, coming of age awakenings, a teenage Jew cowboy, and the heat of a hot, humid summer day.

The program includes the special screenings of A Midsummer Story by renowned director Shunji Iwai. This remake of his 1992 short film features Aina the End as the new heroine.

• COMP23

Memory, Loss and the pursuit of perfection

The links between memory, art, and the haunting presence of loss, as characters struggle with the unexplainable and the profound.

The program includes the special screening of Marion, a highly anticipated short film that premiered at the Venice Film Festival, produced by Cate Blanchett and Sienna Miller.

• COMP24

The Ties That Bind Us

Where the past and present meet, where individuals confront their deepest fears, desires, and regrets.

• COMP25

Motion

From personal revelations to societal critiques, this program explores characters in motion. Navigating change, confronting fears, and embracing new perspectives.

• COMP26

• OPENING

This special program shines a light on women-centered stories that foster a culture of care, empowerment, and inclusion. It celebrates the voices of women filmmakers who are driving change and leading the way toward greater gender equality, both on and off the screen. Women in Cinema is a program not to be missed.

• WOMEN

This special program celebrates stories that explore LGBTQ+ lives, identities, and themes with honesty and heart. -Representation matters- and through this meaningful selection, we shine a spotlight on the diverse, vibrant colors of queer experiences and the transformative power of inclusive storytelling.

• RAINBOW

Shining a spotlight on the next generation of Japanese cinema!
This special program highlights bold, creative, and boundary-pushing works by emerging Japanese filmmakers. From fresh storytelling to unique visual styles, Neo-Japan is your gateway to the future of Japanese film.

• NEO-JPN

To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Saudi Arabia, we are pleased to present a special showcase of short films from Saudi Arabia. In collaboration with the Saudi Film Festival based in Dammam, this program offers a glimpse into the rich storytelling traditions and vibrant culture of Saudi Arabia. Through these short films, you will experience diverse narratives that reflect the creativity and perspectives of Saudi filmmakers, fostering a deeper cultural connection between our two nations.

• SAUDI

This special program is dedicated to short shorts (the inspiration behind our festival’s name!). Who doesn’t love quick, impactful stories told in under a few minutes?

• VERY-SHORT

Cinematic Frontier: AI Program explores the relationship between artificial intelligence and filmmaking. Rather than positioning AI as a replacement for human creativity, this program examines how AI can be a tool for artistic expression, storytelling, and innovation in cinema.

Through a selection of short films made with the assistance of AI, Cinematic Frontier encourages discussion, curiosity, and reflection on AI-generated projects while respecting the artistry and vision of traditional filmmaking.

• AI

This competition accepts submissions from all over the world for short films showcasing the various charms of Tokyo. Productions do not have to be filmed in Tokyo, but must include themes that make one think of Tokyo, be centered on memories of Tokyo or imagine the essence of Tokyo.

• TOKYO

Launched in 2019, the U-25 Project aims to support and discover emerging filmmakers. This initiative calls for short films of five minutes or less, created by filmmakers under 25 years old who reside in Japan or hold Japanese citizenship. By offering a platform for fresh voices and innovative perspectives, we nurture the next generation of filmmakers.

• U-25

Shibuya City has established a basic concept that highlights its future. The aim is to fully establish a global city by developing the concept: “Shibuya--- turning differences into strengths." Shibuya City has collaborated with SSFF & ASIA and will present an award for a short film that promotes diversity and inclusion to spread the basic concept of Shibuya. This program will screen all nominated films and the awarded film. Shibuya welcomes people from around the world to come and enjoy life, understand each other, and live together in harmony to promote turning differences into strengths for the city's future. Let’s make Shibuya together!

• DIVERSITY

This special program is designed for smaller kids, offering a delightful introduction to the world of short films. Centered around non-dialogue films, it is crafted to be accessible and enjoyable for both children and adults alike.

• KIDS 1
• KIDS2
• KIDS3

War and the Power to Live Program, supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). This is a special year, the program was launched in 2015 to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II, and it is now our 10th anniversary with the ICRC and the 80th anniversary of the end of World War.
The program serves as a reminder of how wars and other violent situations continue to devastate lives worldwide. It aims to raise awareness about the ongoing global crises while also highlighting the resilience and courage of individuals who endure these challenges. By presenting films that address these themes, we strive to inspire a message of empathy, peace, and the "Power to Live."

• WP

Prepare for a thrilling dive into the unsettling and supernatural. This special program showcases an exciting selection of horror short films from Japanese filmmakers. From spine chilling films to eerie atmospheres, get ready for a terrifying journey.

• HORROR