A mysterious transfer student named ‘Yuma’ has arrived in Haru’s class.
Yuma remained expressionless all day, not talking to anyone and ignoring the teacher’s questions.
Thinking, ‘Could he be an alien from space?’, Haru decides to carry out a certain plan.

Genre: Drama
Year of Production: 2024
Running time: 20 minutes
Country of Production： Japan
Direction, Writing: Soma Yuta
Cinematography: Shunsuke Mitsuka
Produce: Ryosuke Mochizuki
Recording: Koji Hamada
Lighting: Ryosuke Okaue
Music: Retro Color Collection

Anru Mito / Masuda Maito / Tomoko Kato (former SKE48)

Director　Soma Yuta

A film director living in Chiba Prefecture.
His works deal with the difficulties children face in life and social issues. His first commercial feature film, “The Brownie Inside Me,” will be released in theaters nationwide, including Ikebukuro Cinema Rosa, in January 2025.

Surrounded by images of celebrity lifestyles and social media glamour, a young girl begins to feel insecure and inadequate, yearning to be like the stars she idolises. But as she spends quiet moments with her family, takes long walks with her beloved pet, and reconnects with the simple joys of everyday life, her perspective begins to shift. She comes to realise that true happiness isn’t found in fame or filters, but in love, laughter, and being content with who you are. In the end, she embraces her own unique beauty and discovers that she’s always been enough.

Running time: 6 minutes
Country of Production： United States
Director: Akash Santosh Kumar

Akash Santosh Kumar

My passion for storytelling began at a young age. Growing up, I was captivated by films, often creating my own short movies with my sister and friends by the age of 9. This early fascination with the visual medium led me to pursue Creative Media at A-level/BTEC, further nurturing my artistic abilities. I then honed my craft with a Bachelor’s degree in Television Production from the University of Westminster, where I deepened my understanding of the technical and narrative aspects of filmmaking.

Having been scolded for the sound of his guitar and unable to start a fire to boil water for coffee, the young man leaves the apartment with a few coins in hand…

Genre: Drama
Year of Production: 2024
Running time: 16 minutes
Country of Production： Japan
Directed by： OKITA Kaori
Cinematography: Syuji Hanpo
Assistant cinematographer: Mouri Takatoshi
Ending song:‘Raindrop Star’ by The Bungees written by Hidari Nakata

Riku(Tasusan)
Ami Narise
Tomoko Taniguchi
Hiro Okada(Hound Project)
Mouri Takatoshi
Kasamatsu(Tasusan)
Moriyuka(Tasusan)

Director　OKITA Kaori

Born in Kagawa Prefecture, currently based in Tokyo.
I have been making small independent films for about five years.
Macaroni Salad (2021) and Now (2023) were shortlisted for the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia.
Chill 80 won the Grand Prix in the Yao Section at the 2022 Yao 80 Film Festival, among other awards. To date, I have produced 25 short films.

We also have the right to dream.

Genre: fantasy, surreal
Year of Production: 2024
Running time: 19 minutes
Country of Production： Italy
Directed by： Lorenzo Giovenga, Giuliano Giacomelli
Subject and Screenplay： Ermete Labbadia
Cinematography： Daniele Trani
Editing： Lorenzo Giovenga
Makeup and hair： Cecilia Ceccarelli, Marianna Mocellin, Antonino Albanesi
Set design and costumes： Samantha Giova
Original music： Gualtiero Titta
Sound design and mix： Leonardo Paoletti

Alessandra Masi, Azzurra Martino, Fabio De Caro, Francesca Della Ragione Giuseppe Pestillo, Liliana Fiorelli, Marco Marchese, Marina Savino, Nicola Trambusti, Anna Fasolo and Salvo Adado

Director　Lorenzo Giovenga

Founder of the production company Daitona. His directorial work includes the film “Daitona,” the short films “Happy Birthday,” and the award-winning “Intolerance.” The documentary “Sinfonie Urbane” will be released in 2022.

Director　Giuliano Giacomelli

Director and screenwriter of “Profondo,” which has had a significant run at international festivals. With Lorenzo Giovenga, he directed the short films “Gemma di Maggio,” “Intolerance,” and the experimental work “Sinfonie Urbane.”

In a white room, objects begin to mysteriously appear before a young man, involuntarily reconnecting him with the past so he can make a formative decision.

Running time: 5 minutes
Country of Production： United States

Marlon Palacios

Marlon Palacios is a filmmaker based in Salt Lake City. His work combines poetic visuals, immersive sound design, and nonlinear storytelling—while maintaining a strong commitment to emotional clarity and concrete expression.

Everything is a one-sided love affair. A chain of love where people are dumped, rejected, and tossed around. Asahi, a bar owner, has feelings for Kazushi, who is living with an older woman. Kazushi is trying to get dumped by his girlfriend Hime, but she surprisingly agrees without hesitation. In reality, Hime is also dependent on her friend Jouya. However, Jouya brushes Hime off, saying, “We’re in an adult relationship, right?” That night, a person from Kazushi’s student days, Naruse, appears before Jouya. Believing in destiny, he invites Naruse to dinner, but gets turned down easily. To his surprise, Naruse is in love with Asahi! Naruse confesses, “I love everything about you, including your flaws,” which causes Asahi’s heart to waver, but what she desires is Kazushi’s body. Kazushi asks, “Do you like my body?” and Asahi replies, “I like men. Your body is also part of you!” The faces that change depending on the partner and the unmasked desires. The intricate game of giving and taking between men and women, interspersed with their true feelings and social facades, reveals five one-sided loves in just one night.

Running time： 22 minutes
Directed by： Tetsuo Sinohara
Writing, Produce： Ichika Sensho
Cinematography： Shogo Ueno
Recording： Yasushi Tanaka
Hair and makeup： Moeko Toda
Assistant director： Tatsuya Oda, Korehisa Oyama
Editing： Hideki Mito
Sound： Yuji Murakami
＜Cast＞
Ichika Senjou
Takashi Utagawa
Kayoko Motohashi
Hiroaki Matsuzawa
Chikako Fukuchi

Director　Tetsuo Shinohara

Tetsuo Shinohara Born 9 February 1962 in Tokyo. After working as assistant director for Yoshimitsu Morita, Kichitaro Negishi and others, won a special award at PFF for his independent 8 mm film Running High; 16 mm film Work on the Grass won the Grand Prix at the Kobe International Independent Film Festival and was screened at film festivals in Japan and abroad for theatrical release. Since 1996 with Tsuki to Kyabetsu (Moon and Cabbage), Shinohara has directed Hatsukoi (First Love), The Showa Song Compendium, Deep Breath Needed, Riding the Subway, Yamazakura, Ogawa no Hen, Midsummer Orion, etc. Won the Japan Academy Award for Best Director for Hana Sessa. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Gwangju International Film Festival for his Chinese co-production ‘Sweetheart Chocolate’. In recent years also directed Inubu! He has worked on a wide range of commercial films, including Seed Sowing Traveller: Whisper of the Unrefined (released in 25 Oct). He has also produced a series of films about books and bookshops, such as ‘Hon wo okuru’and ‘Hon wo tsuzuru’. Nasu was used as one of the locations for the filming of “Hon wo tsuzuru” (To Pen A Book). He is currently working on ‘Winter Solstice’ (already filmed) and ‘Summer Solstice’ (in preparation). He has also continued to return to the origins of independent production while deepening his ties with Tochigi Prefecture, for example by working on the corporate PV production ‘Nasu Monogatari Series’ on the independent label ‘Strayu’.