Star-Studded Guests Grace the Red Carpet and Opening Ceremony

TOKYO, June 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2025 (SSFF & ASIA), one of the largest international short film festivals in Asia and accredited by the U.S. Academy Awards®, celebrated the opening of this year's event with a Red Carpet and Opening Ceremony on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, at TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY, which just opened to the public this March. Marking its 27th edition, this year's festival theme is "creative active generative." Gathering "creative" talent from filmmakers around the world, the festival aims to actively create a space where films meet audiences and creators connect with companies—fostering new and exciting collaborations. The theme also reflects the festival's vision for the future, embracing emerging technologies such as generative AI to inspire a new era of creativity. This year, the festival received 4,592 submissions from 108 countries and regions, with approximately 250 carefully selected films to be screened both at physical venues and through the online Grand Theater platform. The Red Carpet, held for the first time at Gateway Park in TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY, was graced by clear skies and a vibrant crowd of spectators. Glamorous guests walked the red carpet, bringing excitement to the festive atmosphere.

Director Naomi Kawase was selected as the first recipient of the newly established TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY Award. She came from the Osaka Expo for this occasion, commented on her thoughts on the award, saying, "When I was serving as the official film director of Tokyo 2020, I thought that images will remain for 100 years. And even more so, they will remain for 1,000 years. I entrust my thoughts to such things, and I burn onto film something that connects not only to the present but to the future. I felt that the part of TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY that says 'looking 100 years into the future' is something I feel the same way about!"

In addition, the J-WAVE SOUND OF CINEMA AWARD announced that "Atom & Void," directed by Goncharo Almeida, one of the leading figures in Portuguese fantasy film, had won the award.

Festival president Bessho passionately talked "For many directors, a short film is the first step in their film career. I also cherish this step and will continue to do my best, following in the footsteps of my great predecessors". The film festival can be enjoyed both online and in person.

An archive of this ceremony is now on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkiPoBS8UV0&t=5048s

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SOURCE Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia