Once upon a time, short films actually played in cinemas, as an opening act for the feature presentation. But as feature films got longer and cinemas tried to squeeze in ever more screenings, the shorts eventually fell by the wayside. As a result they lost their position as the traditional calling card for anyone trying to break into the movie biz, as more and more directors chose to start in commercials or music videos and cross over from there.
The digital revolution has changed all that: Thanks to the spread of cheap filmmaking tools that removed the expense of shooting and printing on film, as well as the vast increase in outlets for release on the Internet, shorts are being made and released at a mind-boggling pace. Just like with music, however, quantity is the enemy of quality, and the need for informed curators who can separate the wheat from the chaff is greater than ever.
Enter Tokyo's Short Shorts Film Festival, now in its 14th year and based in Harajuku's Laforet Museum, with additional screenings at Space O in Omotesando Hills, and an all-night-selection at Roppongi Hills' Toho Cinema. (Yokohama's Brillia Short Shorts Theater will also be showing most films.) Festival director Seigo Tono has personally viewed somewhere between 400 and 500 films, out of something like 4,400 submitted. (His programmers take care of the rest.)