What is the reason for submitting films to film festivals? Check out this comments from some of SSFF & ASIA 2015’s award winners!
Are you starting to feel that it’s getting increasingly difficult to get your work into film festivals? Well, here is a comment from one of the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2015 winners. Hearvarious reasons for submitting to SSFF & ASIA and he significance of having your filmed screened!
It’s not just about having your film shown in your own country, but also about the experience of having your work screened to audiences further afield. There are many important reasons for submitting your work to festivals, as directors the world over will observe. Here are the thoughts of various directors!
Jossie Malis
CG Animation Competition Best Short Award Winner
In 2013 I was nominated at Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia with my previous short film, Bendito Machine IV at the Save the Earth competition. This year, after releasing my last installment, I knew without a doubt that I wanted to be part of such a wonderful film festival so we send our film again. Thankfully, this year we were nominated not only in the official CG Animation Competition Program, but also in a the parallel section War and the Power to Live, supported by the Red Cross, so the gratitude was double. This year I was invited to be at the festival and in Tokyo for my first time, and experiencing the amazing film festival and the city was one of my delightful trips ever. I’ll definitely want to be part of SSFF & ASIA in future editions.
Bendito Machine V – Pull the Trigger
Marleen van der Werf
Save the Earth! Competition Best Short Award Winner
I had the wish to present this film to Japanese audiences as I had the idea they especially could appreciate this film. The magical fantasy world of Filine relates to the spiritual culture of Japan was my idea. Also the message about the vunerablility of the environment I found important to bring to Japan.
Emily Driscoll
Save the Earth! Competition J-WAVE Award Winner
Filming Brilliant Darkness: Hotaru in the Night (a short documentary presented by the Zoological Lighting Institute) in Kyushu, Yokosuka and Tokyo, with an all-Japanese crew, was an unforgettable experience. We worked together to capture the magical Genji and Heike hotaru and share the efforts of photographer Rei Ohara, firefly scientist Dr. Ohba, as well as citizens of Fukui. I heard stories about the importance of fireflies in Japanese culture – how children often first encounter them in rice fields, and how the Genji and Heiki hotaru were named after warring clans and even written about in the ‘The Tale of Genji’. We also saw so many efforts throughout Japan to protect fireflies and preserve the darkness they require for their flash communications. For these reasons – the shooting experience and learning about the appreciation of fireflies and nature in Japan – I wanted to submit the film to the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, a festival that supports and celebrates a wide genre and styles of short documentaries, animations and narrative films. It was an exciting honor to premiere Brilliant Darkness: Hotaru in the Night at the festival (and during firefly season), and for the film to be recognized with the J-Wave Save the Earth Award!
BRILLIANT DARKNESS: HOTARU IN THE NIGHT
Iori Fujiwara
Music Shorts Competition UULA Award Winner
In Japan, many people only consider feature films as “Film,” whilst short films are still thought of as “independent film.” Even within the film industry, broadcasting industry and some film festivals, there are those who feel that short films are only a gateway to future success for up-and-coming directors. This fact often saddens me. The methods applied to scriptwriting and production differ for short films and feature films. Although both are categorized as film, they are different entities. I always try to make films that are a form of entertainment, not a piece of art. By this I mean that I want to make short films that people can watch casually and enjoy on the internet etc.
There are many international and domestic short films that are more interesting and moving than blockbuster features. I hope to make short films like this someday. I also want to keep making short films that offer audiences a different kind of attractiveness and potentiality to that of feature films. And someday, maybe in the next 10 years, I hope appear on a popular talk show as a short film director representative of Japan. This was my reason for submitting my work to this festival.
Santa Yamagishi
Music Shorts Competition Cinematic Award Winner
We often read news that original works have been turned into films, but this mostly refers to novels and comic books. When I make a music video I consider the lyrics of the song, interpreting them and creating a new story based on this. So when I shot “Ikiteyuku Full ver,” I felt more like I was making a short film than a music video. I never imagined that this work would screen at the film festival and go on to win a prize though. I am very grateful.
Music is necessary for music videos, of course, but I always try to make music videos that can exist independently as standalone works. I am very pleased to have had this opportunity and very interesting experience. I hope this work brings further opportunities for both KANA-BOON and I in the future.
ARATA
Music Shorts Cinematic Special mention Award Winner
I think it is very important to spread both the potential and the attraction of music videos to the world through events such as this. This is such a great film festival because regardless of status – whether you’re a pro or an amateur – everyone is given the opportunity to present their films. It is such an honor to be a part of this festival.
Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (SSFF & ASIA), the first Academy Awards® accredited film festival in Japan and one of Asia’s largest international short film festivals, began accepting submissions for its 2016 edition on August 1, 2015 (Sat).
Please access the Call for Entries page via the official festival website (www.shortshorts.org/) for further details on the submission process.
