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July 9, 2002

19:00

Opening Reception Party

This is the fourth year in a row that Sapporo has graciously welcomed the festival. And once again, Sapporo has inserted original programming of its own into the festival. This year, the city welcomed some of the directors whose films were scheduled for screening in 'Sapporo Special Selections' (Program s-3). Three of the program's directors joined guests at the party and gave a few hints of what everyone might see in their films this year: Royston Tan, of Singapore, who directed 'Sons' in last year's program and arrived to screen his new short, 'Hock Hiap Leong.' "I really look forward to talking to young filmmakers here in Sapporo and getting to know what they're doing," he said. "My film this year is a sort of 60's style Go-go dancing film. Bakuhatsuro Ikeda, director of the animation "Qshami," and Akio Watari, director of "Super Sexy Androids. Mr. Ikeda said that he has always liked Hokkaido, "which is why I'm here. I think you'll find my film a bit mysterious." Mr. Watari said: "I'm actually terrified of computer graphics," he joked. "My film is a mish-mash of all the things I wanted to put into a film, so I did. But most of all, it doesn't really look like a film loaded with CG effects. I think."

Later on in the evening, a local professor gave a speech about "Short Films: The industry and the possibilities." "I think it's getting easier and simpler for anyone to make short films these days. The music industry releases three-minute songs weekly, which rise up the charts. I believe that eventually new short films will come out weekly and they should go up on a weekly chart as well. In a way, short films are going to become a new style altogether."

Another highlight of the evening: Korean Short Clips! (Music Videos) will be part of the special programming during the week in Sapporo. Masayuki Furuya, a DJ with extensive experience in the Korean and Japanese music scene, is the producer of the special program. "Korean Music Clips are almost like movies. Sometimes they have the same budget as a feature-length film. They tell stories much the way films do, and often become huge hits in Korea. This week, we'll be showing brand-new clips that haven't yet been broadcast in Korea, as well as some with huge budgets."

Finally, capping off the evening, SSFF Sapporo's Executive Director, Keisuke Onodera told guests, "In Japan we have all sorts of arts that express a lot in short ways. Tanka, haiku, for example. And I think that like Tanka and Haiku, short films tell a lot in a short manner, and they also entertain people. It's my sincere hope that we'll see more young creative talent coming out of Sapporo," he said, and with that, toasted the audience to officially open the festival.