On May 29th, INTERSECT BY LEXUS – TOKYO hosted the opening party for Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (SSFF & ASIA). After a glitzy opening ceremony at Shibuya Hikarie, VIP guests and industry figures gathered at INTERSECT BY LEXUS – TOKYO for this special celebration marking the start of Asia’s largest short film festival.

For the 21st edition of the Academy Award-accredited SSFF & ASIA, the festival explores the theme of “Cinematic Attitude.” Selected from some 10,000 entries from 130 countries worldwide, around 200 films are screened at venues around the city from May 29th to June 16th.

The opening party kicked off with an address by SSFF & ASIA’s Kei Suwa, who described the festival’s recent developments. “Last year, the festival’s Grand Prix was renamed the George Lucas Award and from this year, four of the festival’s winning films are now eligible for nomination in one of the short film categories of the Academy Awards.”

Lexual International’s Kazuo Okino then made a toast and noted how appropriate the venue was for such a creative gathering. “INTERSECT BY LEXUS - TOKYO is a place where we hope people will intersect and new projects emerge.”

By now, guests were arriving thick and fast to enjoy the food and drink. One of them was Tetsuya Bessho, the actor and president of SSFF & ASIA who launched the festival 21 years ago in order to share the wonder of short films with local audiences. He has continued to serve as head of the festival ever since. At the party, Bessho joined directors and others in autographing the display panel at the entrance of the Short Film Theater.

As a sponsor of SSFF & ASIA 2019, LEXUS is hosting the Short Film Theater at INTERSECT BY LEXUS - TOKYO throughout the festival. It will feature screenings of five carefully curated international films that resonate with the LEXUS spirit of Crafted.

Crafted is a sensibility that anticipates people’s vague or unexpressed desires, allowing them to live life on their own terms. Over the course of just a few minutes, these five films conjure up emotionally rich experiences that linger long after the end credits have finished.

As new guests continued to arrive and the buzz of the party showed no signs of abating, Bessho thanked everyone for coming and reminded them to visit SSFF & ASIA 2019 for its first screenings starting the next day.

And so with cheers and applause from guests, the curtain fell on this event celebrating the incredible growth of a festival now entering its third decade.

Short Film Theater

From May 29th to June 17th, the INTERSECT BY LEXUS – TOKYO ground floor Garage space is hosting screenings of five superb short films from around the world that resonate with the LEXUS mindset of Crafted.
https://lexus.jp/international/brand/intersect/tokyo/garage/shortshorts2019.html

Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia
https://www.shortshorts.org/