The Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia is currently taking place at venues in Tokyo through June 26.
The largest festival of its kind in Asia, it gives award winners in its Official, Non-Fiction and Animation competitions the added bonus of being eligible for nominations at next year’s Academy Awards, an arrangement that has long helped make Short Shorts a magnet for filmmakers across the continent and beyond.
Screenings, including those in the International, Asia International and Japan sections of the Official Competition, are free (though some of the events are not). And no matter how short the films are, any Tokyoite would agree that time is hard to come by in the city. So, to help with any decisions moviegoers might make, what follows is a preview of some of the more interesting films on offer.