Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia Announces Call for Entries for Branded Shorts

Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (SSFF & ASIA), a qualifying film festival for the annual Academy Awards and one of Asia’s largest international short film festivals, announced its acceptance of entries for the annual 18th edition, which includes the newly established Branded Shorts.

In recent years, companies and organisations have utilised video content in their marketing to improve the image of brands and products. Through the creation of branded movies, they can effectively communicate brand messages and the value of services directly to customers. In 2016, SSFF & ASIA established Branded Shorts, an extension that specialises in this genre of short films, as a response to the growth in the video advertising market. 

For the first year of Branded Shorts, SSFF & ASIA screened 28 branded movies through their special perspective; Idea, Storytelling, Cinematic, Emotional Appeal. The screening presented a new outlook on short films, which were well-received by the audiences. SSFF & ASIA’s President Tetsuya Bessho also emphasised that the “21st century will be all about Branded Shorts." He continued by saying that “It will become the new 'cinema' and digital short marketing will be taken over by the Branded Shorts."

Along with the screening, SSFF & ASIA held Branded Shorts conferences, which gathered leading companies in Japanese video marketing.

One of the Branded Shorts conferences, 'The Utilization of Moving Images in Global Marketing' powered by NESTLÉ Japan, explored the future of video marketing on a global scale. It featured special guests which included Kohzoh Takaoka, the President and CEO of Nestlé Japan Ltd., a company that is at the forefront of video content marketing in Japan; Yuhei Mizuno, a Google Japan Inc. Corporate Officer who is in charge of services such as YouTube; and Adfest Collective, Lo Sheung Yan (Mayan), who is also Chairman, APAC Creative Council of JWT.

SSFF & ASIA are now holding a call for domestic and international submissions for the 2017 edition of the festival. In addition to screening a wide variety of branded movies, they will be holding more events and seminars that explore the video advertising market further, building on subjects addressed at our inaugural 2016 edition. Click here for more information.