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TOKYO (May 7, 2026) — Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (SSFF & ASIA) 2026, an Academy Award® accredited festival and one of Asia’s premier short film platforms, has appointed its official jury to select the next wave of Oscar®-eligible talent.

This year’s prestigious panel is anchored by Yuya Ishii, the award-winning director of The Moon and The Great Passage, whose work has garnered international acclaim at the Berlin International Film Festival. Joining him are several high-profile figures from the global film industry, including renowned actor Kazuki Kitamura, celebrated for his versatile performances across international productions; acclaimed actress Miki Mizuno; and Yusuke Hirota, the visionary director behind the hit animated feature Poupelle of Chimney Town. The jury also features international festival experts and cultural leaders, including Christine Ji (Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival), Ryan Ashore (Red Sea Film Lab), and Chieko Murata (Myriagon Studio), alongside musician and author Ayaka Wada and digital pioneer Tomoyuki Sugiyama.

Together, they will evaluate 113 nominated films selected from over 4,200 submissions worldwide to determine the winners of this year’s top honors.

部門カテゴリ・アワード構成／審査員メンバー

■Live Action Competition (International Category) & Non-Fiction Competition
・Live Action (International):
29 nominees selected from 2,295 submissions across 99 countries and territories (excluding Asia).
・Non-Fiction: 16 nominees selected from 354 submissions across 61 countries and territories.

Jury: Yuya Ishii, Christine Ji, Miki Mizuno

■Live Action Competition (Asia International & Japan Categories)
・Asia International: 23 nominees selected from 781 submissions across 46 countries and territories in Asia (excluding Japan).
・Japan: 22 nominees selected from 255 submissions.

Jury: Ryan Ashore, Kazuki Kitamura, Chieko Murata

■Animation Competition
23 nominees selected from 503 submissions across 56 countries and territories.

Jury: Ayaka Wada, Yusuke Hirota, Tomoyuki Sugiyama

Tickets for the Award Ceremony go on sale today!

The winners for each category will be unveiled at the official Award Ceremony on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.The ceremony will announce the Best Short Award winners for the Live Action (International, Asia International, and Japan categories), Animation, and Non-Fiction competitions. The night will culminate in the presentation of the George Lucas Award (Grand Prix), the festival’s highest honor.

SSFF & ASIA 2026 Tickets for the Award Ceremony is now on sale

【SSFF & ASIA 2026 Award Ceremony】
The Award Ceremony, the grand finale of the festival, serves as the culmination of 2026. This prestigious event will unveil the winners of the three Live Action categories, the Non-Fiction competition, and the Animation competition. Notably, the winners of these five categories will earn eligibility for nomination at the following year’s Academy Awards®—the highest number of qualifying spots offered by any single film festival in the world. In addition to the awards, the ceremony will feature exclusive announcements regarding new short film productions and upcoming festival projects. All eyes will be on the final reveal: which film will be crowned with the George Lucas Award, the festival’s Grand-Prix. For those unable to attend in person, the Award Ceremony will be live-streamed globally. Don’t miss this historic cinematic moment!*Event details are subject to change.

Date & Time: Wednesday, June 10th , 16:30-19:30
Venu：LINE CUBE SHIBYA
Guests：Jury Members, LiLiCo, Tetsuya Bessho
Tickets：5,000 JPY
URL：https://l-tike.com/cinema/mevent/?mid=782757

SSFF & ASIA’s YouTube Channel will have a live stream of the ceremony.

SSFF & ASIA 2026 Live-action Competition International Category and Non-Fiction Competition Jury

Yuya Ishii（Film Director）

Born in 1983 in Saitama, Japan.
His graduation film at Osaka University of Arts, Naked Japan (2005), won the Grand Prix at the 29th Pia Film Festival. He made his commercial feature debut with Sawako Decides (2009), produced under the 19th PFF Scholarship.
At the 37th Japan Academy Prize, The Great Passage (2013) won both Best Picture and Best Director. The Tokyo Night Sky Is Always the Densest Shade of Blue (2017) was ranked No.1 in the 91st Kinema Junpo Best Ten and was selected for the Berlin International Film Festival.
His recent works include Masked Hearts, The Moon and One Last Love Letter.

Kristen JI（Short Film Selection Committee member of Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival）

Studied English Language and Literature at Chung-Ang University, and received her MA degree with the thesis 「Cinema of Ang Lee as a Popular Auteur」 at the Graduate School of Arts of Chung-Ang University. She had served as a programmer in Chungmuro International Film Festival (2007-2008) and Seoul International Family Film Festival (2010-2011). She was a jury member of the GrandOFF World Independent Film Award(2014-2016) in Poland. She has worked at the Asiana International Short Film Festival as a programmer from 2013 to 2021. Since 2023, she is working at Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival as a short film selection committee.

Miki Mizuno (Actor）

After making her acting debut in her teens, she has built a wide-ranging career across film, television dramas, and stage productions.
She won Best Actress at the 28th Television Drama Academy Awards, as well as the Grand Prize for Best Action Actress at the 2nd Japan Action Awards.
She leads the theater unit “Propeller Dogs,” and in addition to acting, is also active in writing, directing, and producing. In 2025, she founded a new theatrical production company, All Out Challenge Inc., and has been working to connect Japan and international audiences through entertainment.
Her recent major appearances include the TV drama Is It a Crime to Kill the Person Who Took My Daughter’s Life? (2025) and the stage production The Sound of the Foundation: SEKIGAHARA (2025). She is currently appearing in the NHK morning drama series Kaze, Kaoru.

SSFF & ASIA 2026 Live-action Competition Asia International Category and Japan Category Jury

Ryan Ashore（Director of Red Sea Labs）

Ryan Ashore is a filmmaker, producer, and creative artist whose passion for cinema began at an early age. After film school and experience on numerous film sets, he began his career with short films before expanding into drama, fashion, and independent film production across several countries.
Through his role as the Director of the Red Sea Labs, Ryan has focused on supporting emerging and established talents from the Arab region, Africa, and Asia, helping develop the next generation of storytellers. He also launched the Music and Sound program, mentoring young composers and connecting them with internationally recognized professionals while expanding opportunities for creatives across film, series, animation, and music.

Kazuki Kitamura (Actor)

Born in 1969. In 1999, he gained widespread attention for his performances in ” Minazuki”(dir: Rokuro Mochizuki), which earned him the Best Supporting Actor award at the Yokohama Film Festival, and “”Ley Lines””( dir: Takashi Miike), for which he received the Best Newcomer Award. Since then, he has appeared in numerous film productions. His notable film credits include “”Japan’s Tragedy””( dir: Masahiro Kobayashi, 2013), “”Thermae Romae””( dir: Hideki Takeuchi, 2012, 2014), “”Silent Parade””( dir: Hiroshi Nishitani,2022), and “”SAMURAI VENGEANCE””(dir: Takashi MInamoto,2026). On stage, he delivered a standout performance as the King in the musical “”The King and I“ .His television work includes the drama series ‘Tenchijin’, the ‘Samurai Cat’ series, Netflix’s “TOKYO SWINDLERS”, and “”Kaze, Kaoru””, among others.

Chieko Murata（Executive Officer, Production Division MYRIAGON STUDIO）

After graduating from Doshisha University with a degree in journalism, she studied film production at California State University.
She had worked with the Sundance Institute, supporting the development of emerging filmmakers, before returning to Japan. At NHK Enterprises, she was involved in the production of films such as Osama, winner of Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and You and “Me and You and Everyone We Know”, winner of Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.She first participated in a Japanese film production with Boy Meets Pusan (2007, directed by Masaharu Take). After working at CJ Entertainment, Japan and Fox International Productions, she joined Sony Pictures, where she produced titles including “50 First Kisses” (2018, directed by Yūichi Fukuda) and “Kingdom” (2019, directed by Shinsuke Sato). She received the Special Prize at the Fujimoto Awards for “Kingdom” (2019, directed by Shinsuke Sato).
Since 2024, she serves as Executive Officer of the Production division at MYRIAGON STUDIO. She developed and produced the film KOKUHO (2025, directed by Sang-il Lee).

SSFF & ASIA 2026 Animation Competition Jury

Ayaka Wada（Musician and Writer）

Born on August 1, 1994, in Gunma, Japan. She is an artist of poetry and words. In 2019, she graduated from “Hello! Project” and “ANGERME,” where she served as the sixth-generation leader. Drawing on her experience as an idol group member, she speaks and writes about idols from feminist and gender perspectives, including issues surrounding labor in the idol industry.
In her music activities, she writes lyrics, sings, and performs readings as part of the alternative pop band Ayaka Wada and Omnibus and the dub-ambient abstract band LOLOET. She completed a master’s degree (first half of the doctoral program) in art history at Jissen Women’s University Graduate School, and is also active in writing, lecturing, and media appearances related to museums and exhibitions.
Her publications include I Want to Say I’m Glad I Became an Idol (Ohta Publishing), among others.

Yusuke Hirota (Film Director）

He graduated from the Faculty of Science and Technology at Keio University. After completing the CG/VFX program at Digital Hollywood, he joined STUDIO4°C in 2001. He made his debut as a CGI director on the TV anime Piroppo (2001), directed by Katsuhito Ishii, and has since worked as a CGI director on numerous films, TV anime, commercials, and game movies, including The Animatrix – Beyond (2003), Genius Party – Baby Blue (2007), and Genius Party Beyond – Moondrive (2008).
He also handled opening direction for Berserk: The Golden Age Arc trilogy (2012–2013), and served as both director and CGI director on Harmony (2015). His first feature-length directorial work was Poupelle of Chimney Town (2020).
He later supervised CGI on ChaO (2025), and his second feature film as director, Poupelle of Chimney Town: The Promised Clock Tower, is set for release on March 27, 2026. The film has been nominated for the Generation Kplus section at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival.

Tomoyuki Sugiyama（Founder of Digital Hollywood）

After completing a master’s degree at the Graduate School of Science and Technology at Nihon University, he worked as a research assistant at the same university, engaging in architectural acoustic design through computer simulation. In 1987, he moved to the United States, where he served as a visiting researcher at the MIT Media Lab, a senior researcher at the International Media Research Foundation, and later as a full-time lecturer at Nihon University Junior College.
In 1994, he founded Digital Hollywood. He went on to establish the Digital Hollywood Graduate School in 2004 and Digital Hollywood University in 2005, serving as president until March 2026.
His major publications include Cool Japan: Why the World Wants Japanese Products (Shodensha) and Digital Stream: Redesigning the Future (new edition/e-book, Digital Hollywood Publishers), among others.