This special talk welcomed actor Tetsuya Bessho, president of Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, and fashion model Maggy to INTERSECT BY LEXUS – TOKYO for an exciting discussion and screening of short films.

The timing of the talk was perfect since SSFF & Asia, the largest short film festival in Asia, was currently running at six venues in Tokyo and Yokohama.

Along with a small audience, Bessho and Maggy enjoyed two screenings, including “Friday Night,” one of the latest entries in the annual Lexus Short Films. Directed by Alexis Michalik, it premiered at SSFF & Asia’s opening ceremony.

In 2013, Lexus Short Films launched with the goal of supporting and nurturing a new generation of emerging filmmakers. These aspiring directors and writers have received a unique opportunity supported by LEXUS to collaborate with the acclaimed American film studio The Weinstein Company, and produce and showcase their work on an international stage.

LEXUS and The Weinstein Company crowdsourced director submissions from the filmmaking community worldwide. The theme for this series is “Anticipation”, a provocative and nuanced thought-starter providing filmmakers an innovative platform for their imaginations. The selected four films will be screening at international film festivals in the near future.

The talk began with an introduction by Tetsuya Bessho about SSFF & Asia. “The festival is now in its 18th year. We are an Academy Awards-accredited film festival, receiving 6,000 submissions from 100 countries annually.”

Bessho juggles his duties running the festival with a bustling career as a performer. He wanted to know if Maggy was planning to move into film acting.

“Not yet,” the model said, “but I’d like to if I had the right opportunity. I’d like it to debut in a role that’s the exact opposite of what I'm like!”

As the guests and audience prepared to watch the first screening, Maggy revealed that it was actually her first time ever to watch a short film.

After the roughly 15-minute “Friday Night” was over, Bessho gave his impressions. “It has a very timely and universal theme: What is it like trying to contact a family member when disaster strikes?” The film is about a mother visiting her daughter, who is studying abroad in France. In a place where she doesn’t speak the language or know her way around, she’s forced to navigate the French metropolis in the dark of night in a desperate search to find her daughter and ensure her safety.

“It was really gripping because it was told from the mother’s perspective,” said Maggy. “The visuals made is seem very real. I couldn’t take my eyes away.”

The next screening was the roughly 4-minute “Mr. Foley,” a darkly playful film about a man in hospital whose life is soundtracked by a group of musicians. Bessho suggested that the film tells us how important sound and rhythm are to our lives.

Maggy then talked about her personal tastes in films. “I like to watch documentaries and war films. I like films about something that is actually happening in the world. But I also like simple love stories that really make you cry.” This led to a lively discussion about the types of films they found enjoyable to watch.

Just as the talk was coming to an end, Bessho just had time to reveal that this autumn INTERSECT BY LEXUS will be hosting a workshop by acclaimed film director Hirokazu Koreeda.