Six short films that capture our world in mere minutes
With 27 years under its belt, Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia continues to prove that evocative storytelling can be packed into just a few minutes of screen time.
Launched in 1999, the festival is among the largest of its kind in the Asian region. Winners in three Competition categories — live-action, animation and nonfiction — are eligible for nomination in the short film category at the Academy Awards. This year's edition will open May 28 at the newly opened Takanawa Gateway City in Tokyo's Minato Ward and run at that venue and others across the capital until the awards ceremony on June 11. Part of the lineup is also available as online screenings, which kicked off April 24 and will continue through June 30.
This year's lineup includes 250 films from Japan, Asia and beyond, selected from a pool of 4,592 submissions. Though many are by newcomers hoping to use their shorts as calling cards, well-known names appear in the credits of others as actors, producers or directors, and others have already picked up awards on the international festival circuit.
In addition to the Competition sections, Short Shorts offers a diverse range of programs, including the new Horror and K-Short sections, as well as Saudi Visions, which commemorates 70 years of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Japan. The festival will also mark 80 years since the end of World War II with a program titled War and the Power to Live.
With hundreds of titles on offer, even the most devoted cinephiles might appreciate a little guidance. To help navigate the lineup, here are six standouts worth seeking out.
'Marion' (France, U.K.; 2024)
Produced by Academy Award-winning actor Cate Blanchett, this short by Joe Weiland and Finn Constantine centers on the only female ecarteur — or bull dodger — in course landaise, the nonlethal French version of bullfighting in which performers, armed with only skill and courage, face hard-charging bulls.
The eponymous protagonist performs her dangerous work while her young daughter waits for her backstage — until she decides to see what her mom is doing in the bull ring that has drawn shouts and gasps from the crowd. The resulting tension comes from the heart-in-throat realization that the horns Marion dodges can be fatal — and that her daughter may be in for the shock of her life.
'Marion' provides a glimpse into the lives of bull dodgers, who perform a nonlethal version of bullfighting. |
COURTESY OF SHORT SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL & ASIA
'Drifting' (Ireland; 2020)
Featuring the first film appearance by 'Gladiator II' star Paul Mescal, this 2020 short by Robert Higgins and Patrick McGivney follows two longtime friends in a rural Irish village who are about to part ways. One is headed for Australia; the other — played by Mescal — is staying behind, stuck in a dead-end existence he's only beginning to confront.
Mescal's character is a feckless charmer who brawls as easily as he smiles, but the departure of his friend hits harder than expected.
With its taut storytelling, incisive character portrayals and a powerhouse performance by Mescal, 'Drifting' is a small gem.
'Drifting,' by Robert Higgins and Patrick McGivney, stars Paul Mescal in his first film appearance. |
COURTESY OF SHORT SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL & ASIA
'A Midsummer Story' (Japan; 2023)
Screening in the Japan competition section is veteran director Shunji Iwai's 2023 short about a reclusive woman (played by singer-songwriter Aina the End) who is obsessed with her handsome neighbor. Secluded in her stifling apartment during a heat wave, she tracks his every move.
A remake of a 1992 short Iwai shot early in his career, the film reflects his abiding interest in the inner lives of women who are outsiders. His camera intimately explores everything from his loner protagonist's sensuality — lounging in skimpy summer clothes — to the fragile state of her psyche. Aina the End, who also starred in Iwai's 2023 feature 'Kyrie,' makes the character at once unknowable and sympathetic, as we realize that her one-sided infatuation may be the only thing sustaining her.
Japanese filmmaker Shunji Iwai cast singer-songwriter Aina the End in 'A Midsummer Story,' a remake of one of his earlier short films. |
COURTESY OF SHORT SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL & ASIA
'Will You Come Up?' (South Korea; 2024)
Having already accrued 45 awards bestowed by numerous festivals, Son Ho-seung's shocker in the K-Short program stars Kim Ji-woong as a young building security guard who has his eyes on one of the tenants (Cha Su-zin), a mysterious woman in a tight skirt. Telling him she will return from an overseas trip in a week, she leaves but fails to return on schedule. Sensing that something is wrong, the guard decides to investigate and stumbles into a hellscape.
Shot with an undercurrent of dark humor and adding a backstory that deftly explains the protagonist's fall from grace to his current lowly occupation, the film announces Son as an accomplished storyteller and shot-maker no doubt destined for a big commercial career.
'Nine Days in August' (Germany; 2024)
A part of the Women in Cinema Project, this short by German director Ella Knorz is a slice-of-life look at a young woman's decision to get an abortion immediately after learning she is pregnant. With her rangy figure and brisk, blithe aura, 18-year-old Lea (Marie Nadja Haller) shows no outward signs of her condition, though she is anxious not to tell her supportive father (Frank Voss) about it.
In tracking her quest for an abortion, the film rejects melodrama in favor of embracing nonjudgmental sympathy for Lea's choice. She and her situation remain something of an enigma — the father is never identified — but the film subtly frames her choice as one informed by her Gen Z sensibility.
German director Ella Knorz tackles the subject of abortion in "Nine Days in August," starring Marie Nadja Haller. |
COURTESY OF SHORT SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL & ASIA
'In the Words of Firman' (Indonesia; 2024)
In his 2024 short screening in the Asia International Program, Indonesian filmmaker Kurnia Alexander probes the conservative attitudes of his country's film industry toward LGBTQ+ talent. Rising star Firman (Mochisyam Hidayat) laughingly brushes off rumors of an off-screen romance while being interviewed for his latest film with his female costar Ayas (Laras Sardi) at his side, but his smiling facade falls when the interviewer asks for his take on allegations of sexual harassment against a trans makeup artist — who happens to be Firman's close friend.
As he awkwardly answers — and his manager frantically urges caution — we realize that Firman is firmly closeted and fearful of ruining his career if he defends his pal. As depicted in this cleverly scripted and smoothly directed film from Muslim-majority Indonesia, the dilemma of outing oneself or not feels urgent and of-the-moment. It's also a story the Japanese film industry has yet to tell — unless a short on the Short Shorts lineup I have yet to see has already filled the gap.
Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia takes place at venues around Tokyo from May 28 through June 11. Films will also be screened online through June 30. For more information on locations and streaming, visit the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia website
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