Nihon Chokuhan Presents Short Drama Pitch Contest [Announcement of Shortlist]
Application Overview Unveiled at Creators’ Party Ahead of the Autumn International Short Film Festival
Today, following a rigorous process, we are pleased to announce the first round of the Shortlist. The final winners will be selected from among these shortlisted projects. We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the creators who submitted such passionate and wonderful pitches.
Ahead of the opening of the SSFF & ASIA 2026 Screening in Autumn on November 5, a Creators’ Party supported by Nihon Chokuhan was held on Monday, November 2. The event brought together pitch contest applicants and participating film festival directors, during which an overview of the entries for the Short Drama Pitch Contest was also revealed.
The party was attended by Edward Katayama Tripković, Representative Director of the Japan Croatia Society—the organizer of the Croatia Film Festival, which is also supported by Nihon Chokuhan—and featured an engaging talk session on the mutual exchange of content between Japan and Croatia.
<Nihon Chokuhan presents : Short Drama Pitch Competition SHORTLIST >
■ Analysis of Application Trends and Characteristics
- Entries were received from more than 20 countries and regions around the world—including the United States, China, Canada, Singapore, India, and various European nations—as well as across Japan, ranging from Hokkaido to Okinawa with a strong concentration in Tokyo and Kanagawa. The competition drew a diverse spectrum of creators: past SSFF & ASIA participants, established industry professionals working on the frontlines, emerging talents discovering the contest through open calls, and young creators and students under 25 (U-25).
- Centered on human dramas, the submissions spanned a wide variety of genres, including sci-fi, comedy, suspense, horror, youth road movies, and fantasy. Submissions featured striking concepts and single-situation ideas unique to short films—such as an everyday mystery told from the perspective of a dog, a romance exploring miscommunication through a split-screen format, and a confrontation between a masked rakugo storyteller and the Grim Reaper.
- Many applicants actively utilized generative AI as a creative support tool for refining plots, proofreading screenplays, and creating mood boards and storyboards. This clearly reflected modern workflows and the current reality of contemporary film project development.
■ Trends in the Shortlist Selection In this selection process, highly regarded projects demonstrated a high degree of completion within the 10-minute runtime while exploring human connections and the subtleties of emotion through unique angles:
- Stories where items are more than mere commodities—acting instead as gifts sent with love and care that prompt relationships and personal growth (e.g., an estranged grandfather and grandson reconnecting through shoe insoles ordered via a mobile shopping site; a family bond repaired by a videotape in a mail-order box sent by one’s past self 30 years ago).
- Dynamic entertainment driven by sharp concepts, striking perspective shifts, and crisp pacing (e.g., a daily drama following a serious neighborhood patrol who turns out to be a small dog; a time-loop comedy of a person dashing through town on an electric kickboard to avoid being late).
- Deep thematic depth set against the backdrop of an increasingly digitized and efficient modern or near-future society, questioning the irreplaceable warmth of human emotion and memory (e.g., an elderly man living with an AI companion in a depopulated village reflecting that “Recording is the AI’s job; remembering is mine”; contrasts between the hollow noise of AI and social media and small acts of real-world kindness).
- Cinematic potential creating rich resonance and visual poetics within a compact framework through sound, light, and minimalist staging (e.g., an atmospheric observation ship communicating with a wife on Earth through flickering light signals; a quiet bond between a solitary copperplate engraver and a young boy).
＜SHORTLIST＞
Otomo Ryosuke (Japan) “E_no_nichijo”
Aoki Yamato (Japan) “アナログ卒業”
Tanaka Asami (Japan) “No.8_ナンバーエイト”
Toya Masaki (Japan) “大気圏が見えるまで”
Oka Tomofumi (Japan) “未来直送便”
Tada Issei (Japan) “SHIRO-KURO”
Endo Yuichiro (Japan) “迷う”
Endo Yuichiro (Japan) “間に合わない”
Yamamoto Ryuji (Japan) “temp”
Hirao Masayuki (Japan) “帰る場所のない迷子”
Chiharu Kawaguchi (Japan) “シール帳、埋めてみた。”
Tsutomu Akamine (Japan) “トメセナ”
Yusuke Gappo (Japan) “喜怒哀REC”
Karen Iwata (Japan) “じいちゃんの能面”
Kian Pourtorab (Iran) “ROBIN”
Makoto Kinoshita (Japan) “怪”
Yuto Sahara (Japan) “名前”
Kotaro Sakai (Japan) “HIJACK•HIGHWAY•HIGHSCHOOL”
Masatoshi Nakao (Japan) “リツト・コレクション：江戸に描かれた未来の塔”
Chris Rudz (Poland) “DAD”
Takayuki Shimizu (Japan) “オーディション”
Shoichi Tokuyama (Japan) “アリとビリビリイス”
Tomoyuki Suzuki (Japan) “ジョージアの炭鉱”
Jussi Rautaniemi (Finland) “EventheLineRestsatNight”
Takao Nakamura (Japan) “エーテルカンパニー”
Yusuke Yasu (Japan) “Pamela”
Kanako Niki (Japan) “メキシコ女王の秘宝を探せ！”
Wataru Yamada (Japan) “強盗ブルー”
Sayo Muratsubaki (Japan) “愛を羽織る。”
Ruth Mave (New Zealand) “Maybe Tomorrow”
Ibrahim Handal (Palestine) “AShort Film About DOOMsDay-A Prologue”
Azis Muhammad Omar (Indonesia) “PLONCO”
Eliza Goh (Singapore) “I just want to be an amoeba”
Lilin Wee (Singapore) “Smiley’s song”
Ryotaro Nishi (Japan) “ムラノセイ”
Hibiki Makino (Japan) “話がある”
Christophe Gomes (France) “STILL, THE TWO OF US”
Mahdi Iravani (Iran) “Encounter”
Shoichi Tokuyama (Japan) “ヒーロー裁判”
Amanda Simandjuntak (Indonesia) “The Almighty Weather”
Kiwami Fukuzawa (Japan) “トイレの神様”
Yuichi Suzuki (Japan) “2人がひとつだったなら”
Ryosuke Watanabe (Japan) “serval(仮)”
Nanako Senda (Japan) “GO! MILK! GO!”
Yosuke Tani (Japan) “イオナとウーピロ”
Yoshihiro Nagata (Japan) “アーカイブ”
Makoto Kinoshita (Japan) “DISPOSAL”
Senya Maruyama (Japan) “悲劇的”
Hiroki Yagi (Japan) “届け物”
Tetsuhiro Ikeda (Japan) “THE DEVIL FISH”
Kazuto Tanaki (Japan) “はじまりの風”
Yi Wen Lin (Taiwan) “時速300キロのさよなら”
Ayaha Ozeki (Japan) “インターホン”
Fuka Miyajima (Japan) “age27”
Eliza Goh (Singapore) “I just want to be an amoeba”
Amanda Simandjuntak (Indonesia) “The Almighty Weather”
Hidehisa Kotani (Japan) “空白 13”
Ayaha Ozeki (Japan) “ギュウニクのフリーター生活”
Masaru Iwao (Japan) “本音嫌われ屋”
Chris Pyate (United States) “CONCRETE GARDEN”
Yasunari Akita (United States) “DIFFERENT ANGLES”