If you're a filmmaker with a killer idea for a short, you might want to take a look at what the Short Shorts Film Festival & ASIA (SSFF & ASIA), one of the biggest short film festivals in the Asia, has got for you this year.
Now officially accepting submissions, SSFF & ASIA is looking for short films to compete in a wide range of different competitions, including its Official Competitions, as well as others like CG Animation, Cinematic Tokyo, and for the first time, the Smartphone Film Competition supported by Sony.
In order to be eligible to become a candidate for the Academy Awards' short film categories, participants must compete in the Non-Fiction Competition or one of the 3 Official Competitions:
Official Competition supported by Sony
- International
- Asia International
- Japan
From those winners, a Grand Prix will be selected and given the George Lucas Award, as well as the opportunity to be nominated in one of the Academy Awards' short film categories.
But that's not all. SSFF & ASIA is introducing a new competition for mobile filmmakers, the Smartphone Film Competition supported by Sony. Though the competition is supported by Sony, participants can use any smartphone they want. Entries must be no longer than 25 minutes.
This competition, supported by Sony Mobile Communications Inc., which produces the smartphone Xperia™ (Sony Mobile), aims to expand the creator's range of expression and opportunities for challenges. SSFF & ASIA support the creation of filmmaking creativity unique to smartphones.
For Sony's latest flagship smartphone, the Xperia 1 II, the team that created Sony’s popular CineAlta camera series, which includes Venice, has supervised the installation of the Cinematography Pro App. Through the technologies drawn from the CineAlta camera with cinematic color reproduction and clarity, the Look presets, 24fps, 4K 10bit HDR with deeper white balance levels, custom settings, and professional-grade displays, you can enjoy professional-level filming experiences. Click here for more details.
Also, as part of this year’s SSFF & ASIA 2020, the "Creators’ Junction partnered with Xperia" will be held on Monday, September 28th via YouTube Live. This seminar, along with Sony and Sony Mobile, who support and bring to reality the dreams of filmmakers, will explore and examine the rapid advancement of the “new” style of filmmaking and visual creativity with the new generation of creators.
Acclaimed filmmaker Naomi Kawase and special guest artist and musician Daiki Tsuneta will be there and festival president Tetsuya Bessho will be the moderator. The talk session will examine and discuss the many new possibilities and techniques that will arise in the “new normal” era of filmmaking using smartphones, as well as the state of filmmaking in general.
Deadlines vary among each competition, so here's a quick breakdown:
- Official Competitions supported by Sony: 9/30/20 (early), 11/30/20 (regular), 1/31/21 (final)
- Non-Fiction Competition: 9/30/20 (early), 11/30/20 (regular), 1/31/21 (final)
- Cinematic Tokyo Competition: 1/31/21
- CG Animation Competition: 1/31/21
- Smartphone Film Competition supported by Sony: 1/31/21
- Branded Shorts: 10/31/20 (early), 11/30/20 (regular), 2/28/21 (final)
You can find a more detailed chart on the SSFF & ASIA website that contains information on entry fees, prizes, and more.
SSFF & ASIA 2020, which is normally held in June, had originally been postponed due to the Coronavirus. However, it will now be held from Wednesday, Sept. 16th through Sunday, Sept. 27th, and will have an expanded online festival, as well. Out of the submissions received from over 112 countries and regions, over 200 carefully selected short films will be screened, including those from the Official Competition supported by Sony, which will gain eligibility for the Academy Awards.
The film festival is scheduled for June 2021, though that's a tentative date in light of COVID-19.
Source: Short Shorts
