SHORT SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL & ASIA 2025 The 27th Theme is “creative active generative”
【Online Venue April 24- / Tokyo Venues May 28 till June 11】
Filmmaker Shunji Iwai is appointed a member of the juryThe Opening Event was also attendedby Oh Man-seok (‘Crash Landing on You’)!
Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (SSFF & ASIA) 2025, one of Asia‘s largest international short film festivals accredited by the US Academy Awards®, will be held from Wed, May 28 to Wed, June 11 June at multiple venues in Tokyo and online. The online venues will begin streaming some of the programs in advance from Thu, April 24 and will run until Mon, June 30. https://www.shortshorts.org/2025/en/index.html
4,592 entries from 108 countries and regions
275 submissions for short films using AI
While many of the films submitted to this year’s festival focused on family ties and the generation gap in each region, half of the films in the International category depicted the conflict in Israel and Palestine. We also saw trends in the entries, such as universal adolescence, trans youth perspectives from Generation Z and stories with dementia as a motif.
And AI-based entries, which have been growing over the past few years, numbered more than 240 this year. While more and more films are using AI technology as a tool for color correction, voice-overs, detailed graphics and effects, scripts and storyboards, fewer and fewer films are being produced entirely in AI, which had been a popular topic of discussion for the past few years.
The festival brings together the ‘creativity’ of filmmakers from all over the world, and aims to create a place where works and audiences, creators and companies can meet and create new chemical reactions in an ‘active’ way. The SSFF & ASIA’s current view and future vision are also expressed in the festival’s theme, ‘Generative’, which is to create a new era of creativity with new technologies that can be linked to ‘Generative AI’. The SSFF & ASIA will be developed under this year’s theme.
SSFF & ASIA will announce all the lineup including five categories (International, Asia International, Japan of Live Action, Non-Fiction and Animation) that will lead to Oscar nominations the following year on Thursday April 24.
Opening ceremony on Wednesday 28 May at TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY
A Jury member Director Shunji Iwai and Korean star Oh Man-seok on the red carpet!
The opening ceremony of this year’s festival will be held at TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY, a large-scale urban development project in the Shinagawa area, where the town opening will take place on 27 March.
On the red carpet, Shunji Iwai, who celebrates his 30th anniversary as a director this year, Korean star Oh Man-seok (‘Crash Landing on You’) and and Yoo Jun-sang （‘Heard It Through the Grapevine’）who will star at the opening event, the JAPAN-KOREA Friendly Concert held for the 60th anniversary of the normalisation of diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea will appear.
Date & Time： Sat, May 31 13:00～ & 17:00～
Vene: TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY
Tickets will be sold on Thu, April 24 from 14:00-
Organizer：Nelke Planning
Co-Organizer：Committee for ShortShorts
TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY
A special event to mark the opening of SSFF & ASIA 2025, the JAPAN-KOREA Friendly Concert, will be held at the newly opened TAKANAWA Gateway City this year. The event will feature Oh Man-seok from South Korea, who has appeared in dramas such as ‘Crash Landing on You’ and the stage play The Man of La Mancha, Yoo Jun-sang, an original cast member of the musical Frankenstein who has also appeared in a wide range of films and dramas, actor Kazuki Kato, who has appeared in numerous musicals, dramas and films as an actor and singer, Mano Asaka, former top star of the Takarazuka Revue and active on stage and in musicals, and Tetsuya Bessho, SSFF & ASIA representative. and performer in numerous musicals, will perform a live concert and talk show. This will be a live concert and talk show.
SSFF & ASIA 2025 JuryMember Director Shunji Iwai’s Comment
Weaving a story that moves the viewer’s heart in the limited time of a short film requires a different technique to that of a feature film.
This year marks 30 years since I started making feature films, I started my own career with short films. Even now, I sometimes make short films because I have an irresistible urge to create a story in a dense, condensed time frame.
Recently, short films have become more and more accessible on YouTube and TikTok, but it is rare to have the opportunity to watch them on a big screen.
What surprises and excitement await you at this year’s Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia?
I look forward to seeing the passion and creativity of the filmmakers together with you.
SSFF & ASIA 2025 Ambassador LiLiCo’s Comment
SSFF & ASIA is a festival for everyone who loves short films.
But that’s not all. You can meet new talent before anyone else.
You can also get to know the culture and life of countries you didn’t know existed.
You are stimulated by various imaginations, and thanks to this, your own horizons and world view are broadened at once.
When I talk to the actors and staff who come from abroad every year, not to mention the Japanese creators, I feel their love and appreciation for films, and I can tell that they really enjoy the festival from the bottom of their hearts.
People connected by film. Everyone shines. Because it is an at-home film festival, everyone is close to each other. Even if the screening time of a film is short, the bonds that are formed here last for a long time.
SSFF & ASIA is beginning again this year.
The theme is ‘creative active generative’.
For me, SSFF & ASIA is like my child. Every year, it is a generative place that produces children with their own personalities and various expressions. After Covid, the number of directors from abroad visiting Japan increased and the festival became a place where creators from all over the world gathered. They exchange information and inspire each other, and new and exciting seeds are born.
The guests who come to see the films and the companies and organisations that support us are also an essential part of the festival, and each actively participates and enjoys the festival.
Such a film festival is exactly what I wanted to achieve in terms of creativity.
I hope that more and more people from all walks of life will take part in the festival and that we can work together to make the 27th edition a wonderful one.
I hope to see you at the festival!
Generative SSFF & ASIA！Be Active and Creative!
Your movie will be launched at the Opening Ceremony
The best films selected by NFT voting will be screened at the Festival Opening Ceremony & will receive a cash prize of 100,000 yen.
In the run-up to the 27th edition of the festival, the contest calls for film festival promotional videos inspired by the theme ‘creative active generative’.
Voting rights for the competition will be distributed to the public within the SSFF & ASIA‘s creators platform LIFE LOG BOX. The votes will be expected from creators and audiences. The video that receives the highest number of votes and is selected by the Festival Committee will be screened at the SSFF & ASIA 2025 opening ceremony and other events at the end of May and in June.
URL https://lifelogbox.com/illuminate-ssff-asia-2024-movie-contest
The Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2025 logo and the main visual featuring the motif ‘creative active generative’ may be downloaded from the website below and used in the video. Click here to download!
URL: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KM9nW9cz-05ebqulJyFQmJip0RoXTB98?usp=sharing
【Submission Period】 Tue, March 25, 14:00- Thu, May 1, 24:00
【Vote Period】 Thu, May 8 14:00 – Wed, May 21 24:00
【Entry Fee】 Free
【Award】 Best Award：100,000JPY
*The names of the prizes and prize money are subject to change.
The best films will be screened at the Festival Ceremony and an announcement will be made.
The voting results will also be announced on the voting page.
【Short Shorts Film Festival ＆ Asia2025 Outline】
■Festival President：Tetsuya Bessho
■Schedule：
-Online Screening Venue starts on Thu, April 24 and continues till
Mon, June 30, 2025
-Opening Ceremony: Wed, May 28
-Screenings at Tokyo Venues: Thu, May 29 to Tue, June 10
-Award Ceremony: Wed, June 11
■Tokyo Venues:
TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY, Omotesando Hills Space O,
Akasaka Inter City Conference,
WITH HARAJUKU and more
※Dates and programmes vary from venue to venue.
■Tickets:
Tickets for Online ＆ Tokyo Venes will be sold from
on Thu, April 24, 14:00
■Customer Inquiries: info@shortshorts.org
■Official Site： https://www.shortshorts.org/2025/en/index.html
2025 Lineups will be announced on Thu, April 24
■Organizer: Committee for ShortShorts / Committee for ShortShorts Asia
