Academy Award-class short films awe audience at global film festival in Limkokwing University
Yasu Tanaka giving his opening address
From left: Yasu Tanaka, Dato’ Raja Aznil Raja Hisham, Bea Tanaka, Dato’ Tiffanee Marie Lim and Mohd Najib Ibrahim
Yasu Tanaka & Bea Tanaka of 42nd Pictures
Bea Tanaka introducing the films in one of the screening sessions
Dominic Watkins in his presentation of Cinema 4D functions
Some of the audience of the festival
Some of the audience of the festival
Some of the audience of the festival
Dato' Tiffanee Lim presenting the certificate of appreciation
The presenters with their certificate of appreciation
The Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2014 held a two-day special screening of award-winning short films at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology’s Cyberjaya campus on October 20th and 21st.
The festival which originated from Tokyo showcased 22 highest quality films from the world wide submissions of over 4000 short films from 110 countries, alongside a series of industry tech talks, workshops and exhibitions.
The festival opened at the Hall of Fame at Limkokwing University, with an official launching ceremony by Dato’ Raja Aznil Raja Hisham, Senior Vice President (Industry Empowerment) of Limkokwing University. Also present were Dato’ Tiffanee Marie Lim, Vice President (Brand, Creativity & Talent Development) of Limkokwing University, Mohd Najib Ibrahim, Head of Property Management Division of Cyberview Sdn Bhd, and Yasu Tanaka & Bea Tanaka of 42nd Pictures.
Speaking during the keynote address Dato’ Raja Aznil expressed the University’s gratitude to have been given the honour by Short Shorts Film Festival Asia to host this year’s special screening again in Malaysia.
“Film as a visual story telling medium will lead to a Universal sensibility that helps connect different cultures and we hope that with this short film festival screening, we shall be able to experience emotions and ideas that cannot be expressed by a painting, words or music but only conveyed through movie screen,” he added.
Alongside the screening there were a series of industry tech talks and Workshops held by companies such as MAXON Computer (developer of Cinema 4D) and Sony on topics such as industry innovations, script writing and animation while industry talks were by established film makers and writers.
The exceptional two-day screening sessions offered students a rare opportunity to learn from top notch talents giving them a platform to discuss and learn from film makers from all over the world.
“I learned a lot from this event in terms of techniques and what makes a high quality film, each of the short film screened had an x-factor to it and this was definitely an eye opener for me,” said Nicky, a semester one Digital Film and Television student.
Yasu Tanaka, a well-known director/producer who brought Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia to Malaysia, in his opening address, reiterated that while some may have watched short films online, most audiences have not been exposed to high quality short films since the high quality works are rarely showcased to the public.
Tanaka also thanked Limkokwing University for hosting the event for the second time, recognising the University’s contribution to the film industry. “On top of hosting the event, the management of Limkokwing University and the students have shown good vibration which is something we cannot get anywhere else. I think that the good atmosphere at the University is necessary to make the event successful,” he commented.
The varied nature of the short films, from Japanese fiction ‘Confession Ranking of Girlfriend’ which had the audience in splits to an abstract animation ‘Lost Senses’, captured the attention of a mixed audience of high school and university students, and industry professionals. Four short films by Limkokwing students were also shown at the festival.
The Short Shorts Film Festival (SSFF) was established in Harajuku, Tokyo in 1999 in order to introduce Japanese audiences to the world of short films. Since then it has taken tours around Japan with more than 140,000 audience members and also overseas in Los Angeles, Singapore, Myanmar and Malaysia. The festival is the only film festival in Japan recognised by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as an official qualifier of short films for Academy Awards nomination.
Limkokwing University’s strong Industry network and partnerships with world class brand leaders and trendsetters enables its students to experience industry realistic practices throughout their studies. Students also have a chance to be involved in real life projects and events.
“This collaboration with Short Shorts Asia is perfect for Limkokwing University as we are creative and industry driven and we have students & aspiring film makers from 160 countries bringing with them a myriad of culture,” acknowledged Dato’ Raja Aznil.
