 |
 |
 | The last day of the festival in Tokyo | 2000.06.12 10:27 |
| I am sorry that it took me so long to get started writing the diary this time. Well, let's start. I was not able to sleep well the night before the last day in Tokyo. I had an uneasy and strange feeling in my stomach, knowing it was my last day here in Tokyo before leaving Harajuku. I saw a bunch of people waiting for today's Panel Discussion in the hall. At the back stage, Mr. Mirai Konishi, who was a guest on the final Panel Discussion, was preparing. Mr. Konishi has been involved in the film industry in Hollywood. He introduced the film that he directed and produced. We, the Short Shorts Festival, intend to encourage Japanese creators, like Mr. Konishi, who go outside Japan and set their goals on establishing the film culture of tomorrow. This last day's panel discussion made all this a reality. Right after the panel discussion started, we got a phone call from Mr. Kubo who is a festival producer in Sapporo, where the festival would take place after Tokyo. "We sold all of the advance tickets and there are still so many people who want to see the programs here. I would like to extend the festival in Sapporo through Monday." The phone call was a headache but it was also pleasant to hear. We, the office staff, immediately started to adjust the schedule. It is also our mission to coordinate the schedule to bring more people to the festival, as long as we don't have any conveyance or operation timetable problems. Fortunately, it seemed that we would not have any problems moving from Sapporo to Nagoya, which is the next site of the festival after Sapporo, and in making sure to hire enough operations staff. After I left Mr. Takahashi, a producer of the festival, in charge, I went back to the office to adjust the schedule in Osaka. The national tour is just about to start. I don't have time to think about this being the last day in Tokyo, or to be sentimental. The executive committee from Okinawa, Kyushu, came to Tokyo many times and is getting ready for the festival in Naha which is the final stop on the national tour. I am already sentimental about my last day in Tokyo. I am probably going to be terribly sentimental in Naha which is the last venue for this festival. When I came back to the hall, I not only saw the long line for the next film, but also received many phone inquiries about the Weekday Passes from people who want to buy one. Weekday Passes were already sold out... I wanted to issue more passes, but the demand was just too much to keep up with. I was not able to meet their demands, so I had to say, "No more passes. I am sorry." It was very hard for me to say that. I am really sorry... However, some people cheered me up by saying, "Congratulations on your success," which made me very happy. After the International Program started, we had the closing party with filmmakers at Cafe 632. I really appreciate that these directors pleasantly joined our festival, especially since it's only the 2nd year. I hope these film makers will remember the time they spent at the festival in Japan after they become masters. After 8:30pm... The last program finished. As the last audience left the hall, I felt like I wanted to say "thank you" many times. I was encouraged by the audience members who said, "I will be back next year." After the hall emptied, we began removing a panel, a screen and a projector all at once. It was like a magic show. It gradually became a space with nothing in it. It was like a dream that there was a vision to be projected in the darkness in this space with nothing, and we got wonderful pleasure and energy. But we all know it truly existed. The staff, student volunteers, and all directors made a toast to this space with nothing. The beer tasted good. The festival in Tokyo was over. Thank you, everyone. I will be in Sapporo tomorrow. Enjoy the festival report on this website. Tetsuya B |
| The fifth day of the festival - All weekday passes are sold out! But, don't worry. | 2000.06.07 4:30 |
| The fifth day of the festival. It is Tuesday. I did some investigative work as a reporter this morning, and I came to the hall after 11am. There were already many people waiting there. I said, "Good morning!" and went backstage. I changed into the official festival T-shirt, and I was ready for the festival physically and mentally. By the way, the theme color for the festival this year is fuchsia. This is the hottest color in the world this year. We use this theme color in our banners, flyers and T shirts. I especially like our T shirts. They are really nice. I didn't design the print but I strongly recommend audiences to buy T shirts. These are only available during the festival, so please buy one. We began with the Discussion Panel today. We talked about film technology by looking back into film history. Film history has been established over the course of the 20th history. It is a culture that has blossomed in the last 100 years. The film industry will be at the center of culture in the 21st century. Technologies that support the film industry are progressing rapidly. I don't think there are many fields where technology and art are as closely intertwined as in film. So, considering the history and the future of film this year, we are showing short films that were made in the early 20th century at the beginning of each program. Antique films are like vintage wine This was the age when films were called "motion pictures" and "Katsudou-shashin" in Japanese. A vision of the light projecting in the dark infiltrates my body gradually. After the Panel Discussion we started Program X. This is an International Program which is a special plan for this year. In this program, we introduce not only films of America, "the kingdom of movies", but also other films made by other filmmakers. This program has a good reputation. I think maybe it is because we have a film starring Ewan McGregor and some non-American films which have a style that American films don't. But what surprises me about America, is that America adopts all these gifts from other countries, absorbs them, and produces a new generation. In the medical field, science field, or technology field such as computers, America, as an immigrant country, seems to regenerate by absorbing the latest information and systems all the time. It is the same thing in the movie industry. There are many foreign directors, actors, and actresses who participate actively in Hollywood. These directors are, for example, John Woo, Ang Lee, Paul Verhoeven, Peter Weir, and Jane Campion. Mel Gibson used to live in Australia and Russell Crowe is an Australian. Arnold Schwarzenegger is an Austrian, Antonio Banderas is Spanish, and Michael J. Fox is a Canadian. I can list more. Keith Milton (Twinkle Toes), who is visiting Japan this time, is British, and Elisabeth Lochen (Red Ribbon) is French. Keiko Ibi is of course Japanese. America is the country that provides the environment for these people to express themselves freely. So, I can probably say that "American Short Shorts" doesn't describe America, but is a festival for the visual brains that have flowed into America. While I was thinking about the above, I received good news. "Weekday Passes are sold out. But we are getting so many inquiries about the passes. What should we do?" I was so surprised to hear that all passes were sold out, because I wasn't sure if we would have many people coming to the festival during the weekdays. To have a weekday pass, means that you can see films all day long. I am so glad that so many people want to do that. We, the executive committee, made a decision. We would try to deal with inquiries and get people to come to the festival as much as possible. We will do our best on the last day in Tokyo. Oops, I have to go now. It's almost time to go to Harajuku. The last day in Tokyo is coming. We will do our best. It is now 4am. It's already morning. I will sleep a little bit. Tetsuya B |
| The fourth day of the festival - TV reporters from America came to the festival. | 2000.06.06 18:4 |
| After the Discussion Panel with Keiko and Greg, there were so many people lined up to see the next films that they completely filled the stairways of La Foret Museum despite the fact that it was a Monday. These people were mostly students and people who want to get into filmmaking in the future. Backstage, filmmakers were writing their autographs on posters. I will keep take great care of the poster. Some of directors, including Keiko Ibi, had to go back to America. We became very close, and it was hard for me to say good-bye to them. I will look forward to seeing their work in Hollywood someday. TV reporters from America came to the festival. Actually, the "E! Entertainment Television" crew and a reporter from an American movie magazine "The Hollywood Reporter" came to cover the festival, but today, who should come to the festival but CNN, CBS and NHK (Japanese)! Filmmakers were talking about this festival to people in America. It was a happy moment to see that. We finished today's schedule with Program D without any troubles. The staff and I went to eat Chinese cuisine after 9pm. It was another fulfilling day today. Tetsuya B |
| The fourth day of the festival (part 1) --- Discussion with Keiko Ibi | 2000.06.06 15:43 |
| The fourth day. Monday. Today started with the Discussion with Keiko Ibi. Associate Producer Douglas Williams, who was the host of the event, and Mr. Yamazaki, who was the planner began a meeting at 10:30 AM. Keiko Ibi and her husband, Greg Pak also arrived at the hall. Greg had been a friend of Keiko since he attended film school at NYU, where he and Keiko produced the film together. Greg worked as director of photography. Keiko must have felt secure to have her husband as a director of photography who was a pillar on the production sites. At the discussion, the audience saw films first and got to communicate with filmmakers directly through Q&A. This event must have been very exciting for movie lovers. Keiko and Greg talked about their passion for movies. I wished I were one of the audience members.. This film, for which Keiko received an Academy Award, was made with a process called "Kinescope Recording" which is a technique for printing video tape onto 35 mm film. There are many techniques to produce films. What I felt while selecting films for this festival was that we were really in a midst of the greatest revolution of film technology. Filming has a variety of formats, such as 16 mm, 35 mm, CG, beta video, digital video, and so on. Furthermore, filmmakers sometimes use computers to create unique pictures, with live action transferred to animation. We can see many different challenges through short films, in terms of pictures and sounds. There are so many choices in recording media, including memory stick, CD-ROM, DVD, MO, ZIP, etc. We can even film with MD using machinery that SONY invented. We are in an IT revolution. I am sure that shorts will lead the way in the visual entertainment industry. I wonder who will win in the broadcasting competition in the near future when everything will be digitized. Anyway, this is a chaotic but challenging age for film creators. By the way, Greg Pak's film "Po Mo Knock Knock" was a surreal and poetic work. It is based on the uniquely American Knock Knock joke which always begins with one person knocking on the door "Knock, knock, "and the other asking, "Who's there?" The audience enjoyed this fanciful film and gave a big applause. Following Keiko Ibi's Discussion, the program ended with a film by Martin Scorsese who like Keiko and Greg graduated from film school at NYU. The Discussion was filled with feverish excitement. I want to provide more opportunities to have such a cultural communication of films in the future. I will write more laterc Tetsuya B |
| The third day of the festival --- A long line and lots of people | 2000.06.04 21:12 |
| The third day of the festival. It was a very sunny day! When I arrived at the hall at 10:30, festival staff and student volunteers were already working briskly. The student volunteers left for the Harajuku Sweeper campaign for the second day running. About this time, the phone started ringing off the hook. There was a rush of inquires like "when is the Discussion Panel?" "What time does the show start?" "Can I talk to a filmmaker directly?" and so on. Did we get all these phone calls because it was Sunday, or because of the TV show "Waratte-iitomo?" So many media outlets are covering the festival this year. I cannot stop listing all the media that covered the festival: "Tonight" of Asahi TV, "Best Time" of TBS, J-wave radio station, Asahi News Paper, Tokyo News Paper, Nikkei Business, Japan Times, many magazines, and websites. I am so happy and grateful for all. While I was feeling so happy, we faced some problems which delayed the show. While the audience was waiting for the show to begin, I went out on stage and talked about the festival. It wasn't a planned event, but it was a good opportunity to communicate with the audience. At the lobby where the reception desk was located I saw so many people waiting for the next show. The line of people stretched from the reception area on the 6th floor to the 1st floor of the building. There were so many people. Lots of people attended the festival last year as well, but I was so happy I almost cried to see such an enormous crowd to come to the festival this year. Mr. Fukazawa in Take 2, who does the TV show with me, and Mr. Jumbo who is the director of the show came to the festival. Thank you so much. There will be a Panel Discussion with filmmakers as guests at 12:00 noon everyday.. I am going to sleep tight tonight. Well, I am going to eat dinner now. Good bye. Tetsuya B |
| The second day of the festival --- Harajuku Sweepers Campaign | 2000.06.04 20:03 |
| The second day of the festival. The festival began with program D, which included the shortest film among all films in the festival. This film, "Devil Doll" lasts only 55 seconds. We call this type of film "very short." This film establishes that films are not a matter of time. I am hoping that Japanese film creators will also make this kind of film and join Japan Short Shorts which will be held next year. Today I joined the visiting filmmakers and student volunteers in a cleaning campaign on Omotesando Street in Harajuku, where the festival is held. The campaign is called "Harajuku Sweepers." This program was started as a way to contribute something to neighborhood stores and residents who promote a clean town. I didn't find much trash, but I was very surprised by a lot of cigarette butts on the street. As the film directors and I walked down Omotesando Street with brooms, we saw banners of the festival fluttering in the breeze. I was so happy to get encouragement from people walking on the street. After cleaning up, we posed for photos in front of the GAP. I think that through this cleaning event, the filmmakers understood how wonderful Harajuku is, and the bond between the staff of the festival and the filmmakers grew deeper. Tetsuya B |
| The first day of the Festival | 2000.06.04 14:02 |
| Friday, June 1st. The festival began. It was like a calm before the storm. A tense atmosphere, very different from the party last night, could be felt everywhere in the hall... We started the panel discussion first. The title of this discussion was "What's a Short?" The visiting filmmakers talked about the behind the scenes of short film production. One of differences between seeing movies in theaters versus at the festival is that we can communicate with directors at the discussions. The panel discussion began at 12:00 noon.
Mike is 35. He was awarded a prize in this festival. After he received a degree in accounting, he worked as a military officer. He is now making films. Keith is 32, born in London. He moved to the U.S. 8 years ago, and now makes films while he works for Virgin Records. Charlie is 32. This is his debut film. It has already been shown in over 70 countries in the world. He never studied film in school, however, his film has been appreciated everywhere in the world. The energy of these young filmmakers is indeed the source of regeneration for the movie industry. I am in my 30's too... I must do my best. Today, we had 3 programs of films, including a film by Ms. Keiko Ibi. These programs caused a sensation, and I saw many people started buying tickets for the next day on their way out. I was so happy to see that! The filmmakers energetically answered questions from the audience after the show. The last thing that I did today was join the E! Entertainment crew who were covering the festival and the filmmakers. We enjoyed the Tokyo night. Tetsuya B |
| The festival began! ( part 2) | 2000.06.04 14:01 |
| May 31. After the Reception Party, there was a Kick Off Party at the Pizza Express restaurant across the street from the La Foret Museum in Harajuku. This was a great opportunity for the American filmmakers and the people who helped us with the festival to socialize and get to know each other better. At Pizza Express, a restaurant from England, we chowed on delicious pizza and guzzled Robert Mondavi wine and Evian. Our media sponsor Fuji Television and E! Entertainment continued reporting from the Kick Off party after the Reception Party. Producers from each venue site on the festival's National Tour also joined us at the party. By hosting this party, Pizza Express continued its support for young artists--not only for the filmmakers but also for the young jazz musicians who entertained us at the party. At the end of the party, Maki Oguro sang with the band. Uno Kanda also joined in, and then everybody started to sing together. After the party, we went to a restaurant called Nobu Tokyo where we talked through the night. Tomorrow will be the first day of the festival. I'll tell you about it in the next diary entry. Tetsuya B |
| The festival begins! | 2000.06.03 17:18 |
| After a year of preparation, the film festival opened. The opening reception party was held on May 31. We started setting up the festival venue that morning. Our technical director, Mr. Hori, oversaw the installation of the screen and other machinery which is so vital to the film festival. In the lobby, volunteers were setting up the T-shirts and programs that they forwent sleep to prepare the day before. The sponsor board and booths were also installed, as the film festival staff moved around quickly and skillfully. By this point, as executive director, I didn't have much to do except hang around asking useless questions like "Are you doing okay?" " Any problems?" " Did you have lunch?" I was ashamed of myself. At 5:30 we started rehearsing for the party. We checked the schedule of events and the sound and screen. The filmmakers, who had been to the Meiji shrine for a special blessing, arrived as the party was getting into full swing. Many people who helped us with this festival arrived one after another. Also other people who have a connection with the film festival and celebrities and cultured people from many fields came to cheer us on. Party guests included champion sumo wrestler Takanohana, Mr. Ototake, Uno Kanda, Maki Oguro, Kumi Mori, Yuki Amami, Junichi Ishida, Satoko Ito, Tomoko Nagano, Eriko Kusuta, Junko Koshino, Lucy Kent (J-wave DJ) ,Guy Beriman (Virgin Records DJ), Yasuo Baba (Director from HoiChoi production) and a senior from my alma mater, Masatoshi Nakamura. The party began with Master of Ceremonies Chris Pepler's fluent speech. Warren Sopher, from the American Embassy's Department of Cultural Exchange, made a toast. At this moment, I appreciated again that the Embassy's support has made this festival possible. Ten minutes before we were going to introduce each director and his masterpiece, we realized that Greg Pak, who directed PO MO KNOCK KNOCK, was not in the hall. Then we noticed that Christine and Michael Swanson, who directed and produced TWO SEASONS, had not yet arrive either. To tell the truth, back stage was a mass of confusion. While we panicked, "What'll we do? What'll we do?" the missing filmmakers slipped into the hall. They made it just in time, and we were so relieved. When the film ELEVETOR WORLD was presented, the audience burst into laughter. After each film, there was a big applause. It was the moment when I felt our committee members were rewarded for having spent an entire year watching more than a hundred films to select the programs for this year's festival. Each film is like one of the festival's babies. Michael Cargile received the American Short Shorts Award for his film LIGHT OF DARKNESS. Even though his wife is pregnant and his grandfather is very ill, Mike came to Japan to support this film festival. Lastly, we introduced Martin Scorsese's film, and then the Reception Party wound down. After the Reception Party, we went across the street to Pizza Express for the Kick Off Party where the people who helped us put the festival together and the filmmakers got to know each other. I'll tell you the rest of the story later. Bye! Tetsuya Bessho |
| Filmmakers arrive. | 2000.05.31 20:29 |
| Today is the last day of May. It was raining lightly when the filmmakers arrived in Tokyo. They came from America on ANA to participate in this festival. They will be staying at the ANA Hotel, the official hotel of the festival. At 9 p.m. we started their orientation for tomorrow's opening ceremony. We also talked about the Panel Discussions that begin June 2. Back at the office, student volunteers worked through the night organizing the programs and original T-shirts in preparation for the opening day. On another floor, there was a press conference about the festival. We'll open to the public tomorrow. I'm nervous for some reason. Tetsuya B |
| The festival programs are ready! | 2000.05.30 23:17 |
| With three days remaining before the opening of the film festival, the official programs that will be sold during the festival were completed today. They are the fruit of the committee's blood, sweat, and tears. These great-looking programs will make wonderful souvenirs, and they are loaded with information. Suppressing the desire to pour over each page, we all went back to work. The filmmakers are expected to arrive in Tokyo tomorrow. They are flying on the official airline of the festival, ANA. I'm looking forward to the festival's opening day so I can share all of this excitement with you. |
| I'm extremely busy! | 2000.05.29 16:36 |
| The film festival opens this weekend. The Tokyo district of Harajuku, where the festival is held, is coming alive in anticipation of the festival. You probably noticed the flags for the festival which line Omotesando Street. Now, committee members are getting ready for the opening ceremony on June 1. I'm so busy that I feel like screaming everyday! Tetsuya B |
 Copyright, (C) American Short Shorts Film Festival 2000. All rights reserved. Feedback to assff2000@hotmail.com |