The 28th Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, the largest short film festival in Asia and an Academy Awards-qualifying event, is coming back to Tokyo.
This year’s festival takes “Cinema Engineering” as its theme, exploring film as a carefully constructed sensory experience shaped through the interplay of camera work, lighting, sound and evolving techniques. In an era of endless video and algorithm-driven consumption, it brings together creators from around the world to reconsider the true value of the cinematic experience. Special programs will also extend film beyond the screen, incorporating food and art into immersive, multisensory experiences.
This year’s festival features a collection of approximately 250 short films selected from over 5,000 submissions, which came from over 100 countries and regions around the world.
The 2026 lineup is one of the festival’s most compelling yet, featuring a mix of Hollywood icons, K-pop stars and acclaimed Japanese directors.
© SSFF＆ ASIA, “4:44 Time of Fear”
This Year’s Highlights
The festival this year features Oscar-winning actress Renée Zellweger’s directorial debut, a short animated film called They. Sandiwara — a comedy set in a Malaysian night market, starring Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh and directed by Sean Baker (Anora) — will have its Japanese premiere at the festival. Yeoh also produced Nak Muay, another of this year’s selections — a poignant drama surrounding a fallen star.
Charlie Kaufman, best known as the visionary director behind Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, will present the Japan premiere of his latest endeavor, How to Shoot a Ghost. A horror entry titled 4:44 Time of Fear stars Onew, the leader of K-pop group Shinee, in a high-tension thriller.
There are also three Special Programs, each offering a different way into the festival. The Culinary Program centers on food, using it as a lens to explore memory and culture across different countries. The Art Program takes over tatami rooms at MoN Takanawa with an immersive mix of animation, music and fashion, blurring the line between screening and installation.
The third, Focus on Africa, brings together films from countries including Senegal, Egypt and Algeria, putting a spotlight on emerging filmmakers and fast-growing creative scenes.
© SSFF＆ ASIA, “They”
How To Attend the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2026
The festival will be held at various venues across Tokyo, and streamed online, from May 25 to June 10 (online streaming lasts until June 30).
The opening ceremony and red carpet event will be hosted on May 25 at MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives, located inside the newly opened Takanawa Gateway City multicomplex.
Film screenings will follow from May 26 to June 9 at multiple venues, including MoN Takanawa, Akasaka Intercity Conference, EuroLive and With Harajuku Hall. A final award ceremony will conclude the film festival on June 10.
Tickets are required for both in-person screenings and online events. Same-day tickets are ¥1,800 for general admission, ¥1,500 for university students, seniors, guests under 29 years old and persons with disabilities, and ¥1,200 for elementary through high school students. Advance tickets are available for a discounted price.
Online screenings are ¥2,500 for audiences within Japan and $15 USD outside of Japan.
© SSFF＆ ASIA
About the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia
Though the first iteration of the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia was held in 1999, development for the festival dates to two years prior. Founder Tetsuya Bessho, a veteran Japanese actor and radio presenter, first fell in love with the genre after coming across a collection of George Lucas’ student films in Los Angeles.
He was left awestruck that a satisfying story could fit in such a small package. “I realized it’s not the length of a movie that matters,” he said, while also sharing his excitement at discovering that, in Western film culture, animators, directors and actors often “cut their teeth on movies through short films.”
For Bessho, the art form is uniquely challenging and rewarding precisely because it requires actors and directors to deliver a complete narrative arc in a fraction of the time they’d usually have.
That inaugural festival attracted over 8,500 attendees. Among them were many distinguished guests — including George Lucas himself, who was in Japan promoting Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. The festival’s George Lucas Award is now the event’s top honor.
For more information about the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2026, including screening schedules and ticketing details, please visit the event website at https://www.shortshorts.org/2026/en/.
