Announcement of SSFF & ASIA 2026 5th shortlist
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 December, we received 394 submissions. Among these, 20 films were student projects, and 120 were first-time filmmakers. Women filmmakers represented approximately 41%.
International Competition Overview
For the International Competition, we received 202 submissions. The top submitting countries were the United States, France, and Spain.
The trends across these films reveal a focus on stories dealing with death, memories, and generational trauma.
Asia International Competition Overview
The Asia International Competition received 59 submissions. The top submitting countries were China, Indonesia, and Malaysia. A notable trend are stories that deal with characters losing their “place” in the world, often due to urbanization or migration.
Japan Competition Overview
The Japan Competition received 19 submissions. Trending topics among the films were bullying, the pressures of digital life and single mothers facing economical challenges.
Animation Competition Overview
The Animation Competition received 30 submissions, with the United States, Spain and China leading in submissions. Recurring themes this month were a focus on individual journeys of grief, self discovery and transformation. Characters, embarking on a quest that leads to a profound change.
Non-Fiction Competition Overview
The Non-Fiction Competition received 30 submissions. The top submitting countries were the United States, Chile, and the United Kingdom. A notable portion of the non-fiction films are dedicated to the creative arts, particularly music.
〜SSFF & ASIA 2026 shortlist(5th)～
~ 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 | ||
| Anno Domini | Filip Antonio Lizatović | CROATIA |
| A Real Swedish Midsommar | Ville Gobi | SWEDEN |
| A Shot At Art | Ilke Paddenburg | NETHERLANDS |
| Astra La Vista | Johannes Bachmann | SWITZERLAND |
| Concrete Kids | Saulius Baradinskas | LITHUANIA |
| FAUX BIJOUX | Jessy Moussallem | FRANCE |
| I went out (came back to my room) | Roberto García | MEXICO |
| Kentucky Gaza | Omar Rammal | JORDAN |
| Risen from Ruins | Harry Besel | GERMANY |
| Shutterspeed | Jasper De Maeseneer | BELGIUM |
| Asia | ||
| αLPα | Dhiwangkara Seta | INDONESIA |
| CHANT OF THE DESERT FLOWER | SOPHEA KIM | CAMBODIA |
| In the Valley | Han Loong Lim | MALAYSIA |
| Into the Night | Dabin Jung | SOUTH KOREA |
| The Cow | Darwish Syahmi | MALAYSIA |
| The Housekeeper | surya balakrishnan | INDIA |
| What It Says About Us | Chien-yu LIN | TAIWAN |
| Animation | ||
| Shinsei Galverse | Ayaka Ohira | JAPAN |
| the dream | Akihiro Watabiki | JAPAN |
| The observation | Eremin Vladimir | ARMENIA |
| The Piano | Avery Kroll | UNITED STATES |
| Woodland | Jim Obmann, Emil Pogolski, Vanessa Chu | GERMANY |
| Non Fiction | ||
| Baisanos | Andrés Khamis Giacoman, Francisca Khamis Giacoman | CHILE |
| Break, Free | Simeon Hu, Charles Xiuzhi Dong | CHINA |
| In My Brother’s Corner | Katie Turner, Wells Goltra, Keyana Ayaz | UNITED STATES |
| Nobody here knows who I was | Vanessa Navari, Kate Vela, Alejandra Villegas | MEXICO |
| Numb Fingers | Justin Wright | UNITED STATES |
| Olinda’s Golden Arches | Douglas Henrique | BRAZIL |
| Oliver | Michael Kaplan | UNITED STATES |
| Room of the Absolute | Natalie Shirinian, Elizabeth Baudouin | UNITED STATES |
| Japan | ||
| Dead Man Singing | Shinsuke Kurimoto | JAPAN |
| Faceless City | Riko Murakami | JAPAN |
| Grandpa and Summer | YUSUKE HAYAMIZU | JAPAN |
| Michiko’s Encounters on the Road | Emika Takei | JAPAN |
| Ten years of Isobatake, the second year | Hiroshi Gokan | JAPAN |
| THE MATCHING HOTEL | Kensaku Sakamoto | JAPAN |
| You Cannot Be Serious! | Satsuki Okawa | 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 December, but the timing of the announcements may vary.
https://app.lifelogbox.com/festival/shortshorts?tab=competition