Announcement of SSFF & ASIA 2026 shortlist (3rd)
We will release a shortlist from among the entries for the Academy Award(R) eligible categories (Live-action Competitions, Animation Competition, and Non-fiction Competition) for the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2026.
This October, we received 399 submissions. Among these, 17 films were student projects, and 139 were first-time filmmakers. Women filmmakers represented approximately 44% of entries, and although the gap is closing, we need to work more within the film industry and ecosystem to make it happen.
International Competition Overview
For the International Competition, we received 215 submissions. The top submitting countries were the United States, France, and the United Kingdom.
The trends across these films reveal a focus on family, interpersonal trust, grief, and hidden pasts. A significant number of films explore the complexity of personal relationships, particularly within family relations.
Asia International Competition Overview
The Asia International Competition received 68 submissions. The top submitting countries were China, Korea, and Iran. A notable trend is the use of distinct, often isolated geographic locations, such as remote towns and mountainous areas. Many stories revolve around the conflict with tradition, political restriction, and family expectations.
Japan Competition Overview
The Japan Competition received 68 submissions. Several films explore intimate psychological dramas centered on family breakdown and mental illness. The average duration of films in this category is 14 minutes.
Animation Competition Overview
The Animation Competition received 46 submissions, with the United States and France leading in submissions. A recurring theme uses futuristic, technological, or media-driven elements to highlight the lasting impact of human dependency on our gadgets, smartphones, and, specifically, on social media.
Non-Fiction Competition Overview
The Non-Fiction Competition received 26 submissions. The top submitting countries were the United States, China, and Canada. The average duration of these films was 14 minutes and 35 seconds. Many films explore the atrocities of War, and documentaries focus on social and political conflicts and the devastating consequences of Global Warming.
〜SSFF & ASIA 2026 shortlist(3rd)～
~ The name of the film, the director name, and the country name will be listed in alphabetical order by category
| Project Title | Directors | Country of Origin |
| International | ||
| DISC | Blake Rice | United States |
| Easter Day | Mykola Zasieiev | Ukraine |
| Engine of Love | Mira-Belle Rose Bryld | Germany |
| Forgotten Ones | Guillaume Collin | Canada |
| Mary Is Missing | Aisling Byrne | Ireland |
| Samia | Selma Alaoui, Bruno Tracq | Belgium |
| Sundown | Rafael Agustin | United States |
| THE CAULDRON | Thomas Pierce | Slovenia |
| The Inspector | Jandro | Spain |
| The Rise And Fall Of Zara Zilverstein | Brian Kazez | Argentina, France, Spain, United States |
| (+33) | Sean Nam | France |
| Asia | ||
| Before the Sea Forgets | Ngoc Duy Le | Singapore |
| Broken Dawn | Hae-0h Park | Korea, Republic Of |
| City’s Laundry and Taxes | Diana Galang | Philippines |
| Delay | Wang Han-Xuan | China, United States |
| DIRECTOR’S CHAIR | LEE HYUNG GU | Korea, Republic Of |
| Habibi | Alexey Evstigneev | France |
| SPEEDY! | Jiin OH | Korea, Republic Of, United States |
| The Walnut’s Whisper | Sawat Ghaleb | Iraq |
| Tongue | Da-seul LIM | Korea, Republic Of |
| We Were Here | Pranav Bhasin | India |
| Animation | ||
| All This Death | Fadi Syriani | Lebanon |
| Angel & Meow | Clemhyn Escosora | Japan, Slovakia |
| Balconada | Iva Tokmakchieva | Bulgaria |
| Four Walls of Memory | Joanna Platek | Poland |
| GONE WRONG | Arnould Maxime, Butel Ambre, Colombe Alisson, Dinguidar Ylan, Houël Juliette, Jerome Anne-Linh, Saunier Roman, Villeda Adrian | France |
| Kabuki | Tiago MINAMISAWA | Brazil |
| Sulaimani | Vinnie Ann Bose | France |
| Thanks, You Too | Marion Täschler | Switzerland |
| The Gun | Christopher Randall | United States |
| Toine | Magarijuku Team B | Japan |
| Wish You Were Ear | Mirjana Balogh | Hungary |
| Non Fiction | ||
| Acts Of Protest | Zebedee Parkes | Australia |
| El pütì pèrs | Paolo Baiguera | Italy |
| Film Copacabana | Sofia Leão | Brazil |
| Hourglass | Eric Teo | Singapore |
| My village echoes | Maéva Bussard | Belgium |
| The End of Human Race | Part One | Vesely Marek | Austria |
| The Game of Tao | Esther Pardijs | Netherlands |
| Japan | ||
| In the sound of rain | Yuhei Morimoto | Japan |
| My lover | Seiya Ito | Japan |
| when you live through this endless world | Shunta Nino | Japan |
Festival selections will be made from among the shortlisted films. The shortlist films will be selected monthly until the end of March, 2026 and will be uploaded on the festival’s official website by the end of April, 2026. This month’s shortlist is mainly for films submitted by the end of October, but the timing of the announcements may vary.
■SSFF & ASIA 2026 Call for entry https://app.lifelogbox.com/festival/shortshorts?tab=competition