28 Short Films you cannot miss at the 14th Sapporo International Short Film Festival and Market (Part 2)

By Asian Film Festival on October 17, 2019 • ( Leave a comment )

We continue with our list of short films you cannot miss at the 14th Sapporo International Short Film Festival and Market, which is taking place from October 17th until November 4th in Sapporo, Japan.

About the festival:
The Sapporo International Short Film Festival continues to attract between 2800 and 3500 entries per year across all genres cementing its reputation as one of Japan and Asia`s largest and most respected showcases of short form cinema. The festival offers one of the best opportunities available for filmmakers looking to expose their creative works to large audiences and to submit for appraisal by high profile international jury members in the heart of the burgeoning Asian transnational film scene.

Since its inception in 2006, the festival has received more than 35,000 entries from 141 countries and boasts an average annual festival audience of more than 10,000 film enthusiasts. The high volume of entries each year allows for the curation of an extensive and diverse array of programs of both Japanese and International films of the highest quality in various competitive categories. Selected films are professionally showcased, subtitled in Japanese, and screened in state-of-the-art cinema surrounds.

Selected Films:

Pillowface by Péter Vácz – Hungary, Romania | 2018 – 12 minutes
Section: International Programme E

An introverted man creates a pillow friend in his hotel room to ease his loneliness but this new friendship is short-lived when the maid makes the bedding again and again…

Trailer:

Ray by Tekkou Nogami – Japan | 2019 – 29 minutes
Section: National Programme A

Kento was abandoned by his family when he was young. He spent at the facility until an elementary school and is taken over to Hisako who lives in Minamishimabara City. And meet Ayano a girl. Kento’s heart is revived by an event.

Sanako Yuwakashi, 29 Years Old by Kahori Higashi – Japan | 2019 – 25 minutes
Section: National Programme B

Sanako, a 29-year-old is delivering milk bottles, feels lost in life. One day, happened to work in a public bath that has been closing very soon. A techno and pop public bath movie created by clumsy and shy Sanako.

Serenade for Hina by Takayoshi Shiokawa – Japan | 2019 – 10 minutes
Section: National Programme C

Hinako, who was dumped by Tomatsu. When she went to school, Tomatsu talks happily with her classmate Ayaka. After school, Hinako encounters Ayaka at a bicycle parking lot.

Shumshu by Ryo Okawara – Japan | 2019 – 13 minutes
Section: National Programme A

In August 1945, the Soviet soldier Kolbut was on a ship heading to the fortification island occupied by the Japanese army to release the Kuril Islands. The coward Kolbut was trembling with fear.

Sistan & Balouchestan by Meysam Babaei – Iran | 2018 – 5 minutes
Section: Nature

Twenty thousand kilometers of our journey in a city that is within the reach of a country. Sistan and Baluchestan is a city in Iran that extends to the territory of Syria And it is a world of wonder.

Screenings:
November 3rd (Sunday) | Sapporo Plaza 2.5 2F | 17:00 pm
November 4th (Monday) | Sapporo Plaza 2.5 2F | 11:00 am

Slice Of Life by Dino Julius, Luka Hrgovic – Croatia | 2019 – 20 minutes
Section: International Programme B

“Slice of Life” is an original short Science Fiction film inspired by the Blade Runner universe.

Trailer:

Spilled Over by Futoshi Takashima – Japan | 2019 – 10 minutes
Section: Update Documentary Project

Suicidal thoughts cloud over the Japanese youth. Where is it all coming from?

Screenings:
October 19th (Saturday) | Sapporo Plaza 2.5 BF | 11:00 am

Swatted by Ismael Joffroy Chandoutis – France | 2018 – 22 minutes
Section: International Programme C

Online players describe their struggles with “swatting”, a life-threatening cyber-harassment phenomenon that looms over them whenever they play. The events take shape through youtube videos and wireframe images from a video game.

Trailer:

Tail end of the year by Chieh Yang – Taiwan | 2018 – 23 minutes
Section: International Programme E

On Chinese New Year Eve, ten-year old Yang Lan anxiously waiting for her singer mother to come home. The girl struggles to reconcile her urge to feel, at least for a brief moment, loved.

Trailer:

The Narrator by Julia Trofimova – USA | 2018 – 11 minutes
Section: International Programme A

As part of an experimental therapy, a depressed employee must navigate his office job with a personal narrator who speaks aloud his every thought.

To Hell with Codes by Léopold Legrand – France | 2018 – 14 minutes
Section: International Programme A

“Despite their high-security building, Death could easily get into their apartment”. Patrick Pelloux, emergency doctor.

Trapped in the city of a thousand mountains by David Verbeek
Netherlands, China | 2018 – 24 minutes
Section: International Programme F

A new phenomenon of authentic Chinese rap has taken the internet by storm. But behind the unprecedented gains in popularity, there is a struggle for freedom of speech. Rappers are trying to figure out what they still can and cannot do after new censorship is announced.

Trailer: