Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia's President Makes a Courtesy Call to the Governor of Tokyo

Announcing the Best Short Award / Governor of Tokyo Award for the Cinematic Tokyo Competition and Specially Produced Short Film " Wife's Power Outage " Has Also Been Completed

SHIBUYA WARD, Japan, June 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Actor Tetsuya Bessho, president of Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (SSFF & ASIA), one of Asia's biggest international short film festivals accredited by the Academy Awards®︎, paid a courtesy visit to Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike on Monday, May 30th, 2023.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the International Competition, and the 20th anniversary of the Asia-Japan Competition co-sponsored by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

After Bessho's presentation of this year's theme, "UNLOCK," Governor Koike said, "We were able to reach each milestone safely, and we have continued to move forward despite the Covid crisis. I would like to express my sincere respect to the festival. Movies are full of people's dreams, emotions, and connections. I look forward to it every year. We want you to "unlock" the 1200 days of the fight against Covid, and spread the charm and appeal of Tokyo to the world through short films. During the visit, SSFF & ASIA and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, in a continuing collaborated to convey the diverse elements of "Tokyo," the Governor of Tokyo announced this year's best short winner in this category. This year, there were 273 entries from all over the world, and 5 shorts were selected as finalists. "

The Best Short Award /Governor of Tokyo Award went to Director Raymond Dorn, who moved to Japan from the United States in 2014, for "Pieces of You."

https://shortshorts.org/2023/en/program/tokyo/pieces-of-you/

Bessho said, "This love story between a foreign man living abroad and a woman living in Tokyo was full of the charm of Tokyo, like the scene where a woman relays Tokyo's tourist spots to him live on his smartphone. The emotional rollercoaster of the two people was heart-pounding in this well produced short film."

In addition, the 6th co-production short film project by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and SSFF & ASIA was announced its completion.

https://shortshorts.org/tokyo_project/sustainable_recovery/en/

The short film "Wife's Power Outage" was produced under the concept of Sustainable Recovery and directed by Kimi Yawata, who has won awards in the Japan Competition in the past.

Watching the trailer which was shown for the first time, Koike saying, "Tokyo must make sustainable energy so that its battery will not run out. It is full of the everyday charms of Tokyo that you won't find in guidebooks. In addition, it is very important to make the work "barrier-free" by using Japanese subtitles and audio guides as a way to increase methods of communication." "Wife's Power Outage" has been released on the festival YouTube channel and "Pieces of You,", which won the Cinematic Tokyo Competition Best Short Award, has been streamed worldwide on the SSFF & ASIA's online venue. From June 9th, it will be also be screened at a film festival venue in Tokyo. Bessho said, "After years of work, we have reached our 25th anniversary year. The appeal of short films is that they can convey a cinematic story in a short amount of time, and I would like to make the film festival a place where we can support such wonderful directors and screenwriters."

Media contact:
Fuyumi Tanaka
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SOURCE Committee for Short Shorts Film Festival