{"id":17590,"date":"2026-03-26T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shortshorts.org\/content\/?post_type=news_en&p=17590"},"modified":"2026-03-25T19:19:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T10:19:25","slug":"ssff2026announcement","status":"publish","type":"news_en","link":"https:\/\/shortshorts.org\/content\/news_en\/creators\/ssff2026announcement\/","title":{"rendered":"Short Shorts Film Festival Asia 2026
One of Asia’s Largest Academy Award\u00ae Accredited Festivals to Open May 25 in Tokyo and Online
Theme “Cinema Engineering” Explores Future of Film with 5,000 Global Entries
and New Sensory “Food” & “Art” Programs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TOKYO \u2014 The Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (SSFF & ASIA) 2026, an Academy Award\u00ae accredited international short film festival, will be held from May 25 (Mon) to June 10 (Wed), 2026, at multiple venues in Tokyo and via its global online platform (online through June 30). This 28th edition introduces the theme \u201c<\/a>Cinema Engineering\u201d<\/a>, focusing on the intentional design of cinematic experiences\u2014merging AI, vertical video, and sensory storytelling to resonate with human perception. https:\/\/www.shortshorts.org\/2026\/en\/index.html<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 2026 Festival Highlights<\/mark><\/strong>
\u25a0Massive Global Scale: <\/strong>Approximately 5,000 short films were submitted from over 100 countries and regions.
\u25a0Voices from Conflict Zones<\/strong>: The lineup includes powerful narratives from countries facing the hardships of war, including Iran, Israel, Palestine, Yemen, Syria, and Ukraine.
\u25a0Sensory “Food” & “Art” Programs<\/strong>: The festival will feature special programs dedicated to “Food and Memory” and multidisciplinary “Art” (dance, music, animation), with some screenings held in unique settings like traditional tatami rooms .
\u25a0Record AI Integration: <\/strong>A historic high of 368 AI-integrated works were submitted, showcasing trends such as AI-generated music and a partnership with the WORLD AI FILM FESTIVAL.
\u25a0New Landmark Venue<\/strong>: The opening ceremony and red carpet will take place at “MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives,” a new experimental museum designed by architect Kengo Kuma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leadership Perspectives<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

“AI is no longer a magic trick; it is a ‘brush of light’ just like a camera or lighting,” says Tetsuya Bessho, President of SSFF & ASIA . “We seek the true value of the movie experience by engineering both technology and analog sensibilities to project hope onto a confused society”. LiLiCo, SSFF & ASIA 2026 Ambassador, adds: “This is the most wonderful time of year where we meet the ‘soul’ of the works and the creators . It is the world\u2019s most welcoming and home-like film festival”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comments from SSFF & ASIA 2026 Ambassador\u3000LiLiCo<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The season is finally here!
This festival continues to grow larger every year, thanks to the trust and bonds that President Tetsuya Bessho and our entire staff have built with film lovers around the world over so many years.
Talking with creators from Japan and abroad, watching their films, sharing stories, cleaning the streets together, and raising a glass… there is a truly passionate chemistry that only happens because we all love the same thing. This is the most wonderful time of the year because we get to meet the people behind the films\u2014the very ‘soul’ of the work.
From there, we deliver those stories to all of you. I truly believe this is the most welcoming, home-like film festival in the world. We welcome you all from the bottom of our hearts!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LiLiCo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comments from SSFF & ASIA President Tetsuya Bessho<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Photo: SSFF & ASIA 2025 Award Ceremony<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Today, AI is no longer a special magic trick; it has become an integral part of filmmaking, serving as a ‘brush of light’ just like cameras or lighting.
We are witnessing a turning point in cinematic history, where co-creation between AI and humans\u2014along with ‘vertical video,’ the new visual language born from smartphones\u2014is being sublimated into art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, the many works capturing the ‘now’ of our world, including the stories of ‘Food’ and ‘Art’ we are focusing on this year, are deeply imbued with unchanging human love and memory.
How can we ‘engineer’ technology and analog sensibilities to project hope onto our confused society? Through these exquisite short films gathered from around the globe, I want to explore with all of you the ‘true value of the cinematic experience’ in this modern age overflowing with video<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tetsuya Bessho<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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\u3010Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2026 Overview\u3011<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u25a0Festival President\uff1aTetsuya Bessho<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25a0Festival Period\uff1a
Monday, May 25th<\/sup> : Opening Ceremony
Tuesday, May 26th<\/sup>  to Tuesday, June 9th<\/sup> : Screening at Tokyo
Wednesday, June 10th<\/sup> : Award Ceremony
\u203bOnline Venue:\u3000Monday, May 25th<\/sup> to Tuesday, June 30th<\/sup>

\u25a0Screening Venues\uff1aMoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives
(Box1000\u3001Tatami\u3001Park Terrace\uff09
Akasaka Intercity Conference\u3001EurolLive\u3001
WITH HARAJUKU
\u203bDates and programs vary by venue<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25a0Official Website:
https:\/\/www.shortshorts.org\/2026\/en\/index.html<\/a>
\u203bFull Lineup Announcement: Scheduled for April 23, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25a0Ticket Sales: Starting April 25, 2026, at 14:00 JST.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25a0General Inquiry\uff1ainfo@shortshorts.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25a0Host\uff1aCommittee for Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":17578,"parent":0,"template":"","e_news_cat":[550,548,641],"class_list":["post-17590","news_en","type-news_en","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","e_news_cat-creators","e_news_cat-event","e_news_cat-filmfestival"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shortshorts.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news_en\/17590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shortshorts.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news_en"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shortshorts.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news_en"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shortshorts.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shortshorts.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"e_news_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shortshorts.org\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/e_news_cat?post=17590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}