Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2020 wraps up with an award ceremony   

One of the largest international short film festivals in Asia, the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2020 (SSFF & ASIA) concluded its festival on Sunday, September 27, 2020, with an award ceremony held at Meiji Jingu Hall, Tokyo. Though originally scheduled to be held in June, the festival was postponed due to the pandemic and was held from 16-27 September.

Officially recognized by the Academy Awards, the festival showcased around 200 short films from 112 countries and was held across various venues in Tokyo, with most of the works streamed online.

The closing ceremony, which included an award ceremony, was attended by people from the Japanese entertainment industry such as festival founder and actor Tetsuya Bessho, Kyogen actor Izumi Motoya and pop group Generations from Exile Tribe.

The George Lucas Award or the Grand Prix Award was won by November 1st directed by Charlie Manton, which is among the films screened at the festival that are now eligible to be nominated for next year's Academy Awards. The other films eligible for nomination include After Class by Charles Xiuzhi Dong, which won the Asia International programme, as well as Birdland by Takeshi Kogahara. A total of ten awards were presented at the ceremony.