Governor Meets with the President of Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2018

On Friday, May 25, Governor Koike met with Tetsuya Bessho, President of the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (SSFF & ASIA) 2018, at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG). This international short film festival is accredited by the Academy Awards(R) and is co-organized by the TMG.

In June the SSFF & ASIA, one of the largest international short film festivals in Asia, celebrates its 20th anniversary. In 2017 the “Cinematic Tokyo Competition” was established in order to promote the “Tokyo brand,” a tourism strategy of Tokyo.

Mr. Bessho said that the film festival had grown tremendously since its start in 1999, pointing to the fact that various competitions and awards have been created, with more than 10,000 works submitted for entry, and “while promoting the attractions of Tokyo with the TMG, I wish to make this a festival that will connect the attractions of Asia with Japan and Tokyo.” Bessho also noted that the Grand Prix prize had been renamed the “George Lucas Award,” and said, “my expectations for the film festival become even higher when I consider the possibility that the winner of the ‘George Lucas Award’ could come from Asia or Japan.”

On the topic of the Cinematic Tokyo Competition, the governor said, “Through the SSFF & ASIA, we can promote the city to film viewers across the globe. We will promote sports in preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Games, but all host cities that led the Olympic and Paralympic Games to success made conscious efforts to promote their cultures. From this perspective as well, we wish to cooperate with the film festival.”