• Business Overview
• Outline of the event
• Programme
• Implementation Report
• Pre-Event & Collaborative Planning

Business Overview

The Kyoto International Student Film Festival is the largest international student film festival in Japan, planned and operated mainly by university students from the Kansai region, mainly in Kyoto. The purpose of this program is to gather independent films produced by students from all over the world, review them by the executive committee, create opportunities for students to screen them, and to discover human resources and talents who will lead the future of cinema.
Historically, Kyoto is a “movie town” that still inherits the cultural heritage of the early days of Japan cinema, and it is also a “university town and student town” where students account for 10% of the population of Kyoto City. The festival aims to revitalize Kyoto by creating a place for international exchange and mutual understanding by discovering and introducing talents who can add new fields to cinema from among the many possibilities of films from around the world.

Outline of the event

23rd Kyoto International Student Film Festival

Click here for the official website

Dates:

Friday, February 26, 2021 ~ Friday, March 5, 2021

Co-organizers:

The Museum of Kyoto

Planning & Management:

The 23rd Kyoto International Student Film Festival Executive Committee

Operational support:

Kyoto International Student Film Festival Planning Review Committee

Assistance:

Arts and Culture Promotion Fund, Nischa Printing Culture Foundation

Sponsored by:

Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefectural Board of Education, Kyoto City Board of Education, The Japan Foundation,
NPO Image Industry Promotion Organization, Cineaste Organization Osaka,
Cooperative Japan Film Directors Association, UniJapan, Asahi Shimbun Kyoto Bureau,
Kyoto Shimbun, NHK Kyoto Broadcasting Station, KBS Kyoto, α-STATION FM Kyoto

Sponsors:

Director’s Unibu Co., Ltd., Ritsumeikan University Graduate School of Film and Media,
J:COM Kyoto Miyabijon, Nitto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.,
Yamako Co., Ltd., Kyoto Prefectural Federation of Consumer Co-operative Associations

Programme

Films to be screened (15 films with permission to be screened online)

Competition Winners (16 works in total)

Program A

『Masel Tov Cocktail』 Arkadij Khaet,Mickey Paatzsch GERMANY / 2020 / 30min / Live Action Filmacademy Baden-Württemberg	『OFFBEAT』 Myrte Ouwerkerk THE NETHERLANDS / 2020 / 20min / Live Action Netherlands Film Academy
“From this broadcast room to Major Tom” Takuya Chisaka Japan / 2019 / 10min / Live Action Japan University	『CARGO』 Christina Tournatzés GERMANY / 2020 / 15min / Live Action Macromedia University of Applied Science
『Signature』 SeungHui HYUN KOREA / 2020 / 28min / Live Action Seoul Institute of the arts	『Home』 Marcjanna Urbańska POLAND / 2019 / 5min / Anime Lodz Film School
『BONBON』 Daniel Meier GERMANY / 2019 / 22min / Live Action Technische Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe Fachbereich Medienproduktion	『GROWING PAINS』 LIN, PO-YU TAIWAN / 2020 / 25min / Live Action National Taiwan University of Arts

 

Program B

『Young, Fragile』 Joscha Bongard GERMANY / 2020 / 25min / Live Action Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg	『Empty Spaces 』 Clara Stephanie Schieber Lorenesi UK / 2019 / 20min / Live Action University of Warwick
“Wonderful Staggered Feet in Wonderland” Shika Okada Japan / 2019 / 2min / Anime Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School	『We bloom』 KIM Yul-hee KOREA / 2020 / 28min / Live Action Korea National University of Arts
『Pick-up』 Roh Dohyeon KOREA / 2019 / 13min / Live Action Chung-Ang University	『The Coral Guardian』 David Dincer GERMANY / 2020 / 10min / Anime Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
『sweep.』 Takuya Miyahara Japan / 2019 / 42min / Live Action ENBU Seminar	『Talker』 Mehrshad Ranjbar IRAN / 2020 / 13min / Live Action Pars University

 

Special Events

“Akiko Okyu’s Screening Project”

“Surprisingly it doesn’t die”
1999 / Japan / 42min / 16mm
(Fiction Course 1st High School Film)

Tsukiko is an elementary school teacher who is more sensitive to pain than others. That everyday life is too bad. Far from ideal students, parents, insensitive co-workers, and a stalker who relentlessly follows her. Her best friend, Mayu, enjoys a cheesy “marriage that has been made.” La?　Tete-te-te…… There was only one way for Tsukiko to go!　Why?　This is her film directorial debut, directed by Akiko Okyu of “Tremble Without Permission” and “Hold Me Back”.

Final Judges

Akiko Okyu (Director, Script)	Hayato Kawai (Film Director, TV Drama Director, Commercial Director)	Tatsuo Kobayashi (Film Director)

 

Program Fees

Distribution Programs

Program　A　（８Films）￥1,000	Program　B　（９Films）￥1,100
Masel Tov Cocktail	Young, Fragile
OFFBEAT	Empty Spaces
From this broadcast room to Major Tom Wonderful	Staggered Feet in Wonderland
CARGO	We bloom
Signature	Pick-up
Home	The Coral Guardian
BONBON	sweep.
GROWING PAINS
Special Events Screening project directed by Akiko Okyu “Surprisingly it doesn’t die”	Special Events Screening project directed by Akiko Okyu “Surprisingly it doesn’t die”

ALL Program ￥1,500（15Films+Special program）

Program　A　（7Films）￥1,000	Program　B　（8Films）￥1,100
Special Events Screening project directed by Akiko Okyu “Surprisingly it doesn’t die”

Result of Submission

Total for the

and

in

in

year in	Japan	overseas
FY2020	100 works	272 works	372 works
101 works,	176 works, and	277 works	2019
2018:	98 works,	490 works,	588 works
129 works,	356 works, and	485 works	in 2017
168 works,	371 works,	539 works in	2016
123 works,	94 works, and	217 works	2015
163 works,	187 works, and	350 works	in 2014

Implementation Report

The 23rd Kyoto International Student Film Festival discovers young talents who will lead the film industry in the future. It was distributed on the video sharing site “Vimeo” for 8 days from February 26 (Friday) to March 5 (Friday), 2021.
This year’s competition received 372 entries from 22 countries and regions, and 15 films were screened with permission out of 16 carefully selected by the Student Executive Committee.
At the award ceremony, the final judges, Ms. Akiko Ohku, Ms. Hayato Kawai, and Mr. Tatsuo Kobayashi, announced the Grand Prix, Second Prize, and the final Jury Prize in a video message.
In addition to the selected films, various contents such as talk sessions were distributed on the official Youtube channel of the Kyoto International Student Film Festival.
The award-winning works are as follows: I wish the young coach all the best in his future endeavors.
Although it was the first time the event was held online, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who watched and supported and cooperated with us, as well as the successful completion of all the programs.

Announcement of the results of the competition section

Grand Prix
Grand-Prix

『Talker』Mehrshad Ranjbar
IRAN / 2020 / 13min / Pars University

≪Synopsis≫ tells the story of an old woman who cared for her sick husband for many years until he died.

Second Prize
Second Prize

『We bloom』KIM Yul-hee
KOREA / 2020 / 28min / Korea National University of Arts

≪ Synopsis≫ Every day on the way home from school Mr./Ms. Hyun visits Jung-woo. Jungwoo is blind, so he always “listens” to movies at home. Mr./Ms. starts recording movies before moving out.

『The Coral Guardian』David Dincer
GERMANY / 2020 / 10min / Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg

≪ Synopsis≫ 100 years ago, a diver died at sea. Revived by the coral on his helmet, he tried to escape from the sea, but when he found the coral reef in a hidden place on the seabed, he decided to stay there and take care of it. Decades passed, and changes in the marine environment affected him as well as the coral reef. Before he dies again, he tells them that there was a wonderful coral reef in this place.

Final Jury Prize
Akiko Daikyu Prize　

“Wonderful Staggered Feet in Wonderland” Shika Okada
Japan / 2019 / 2min / Anime / Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School

≪Synopsis≫ “One day, when I was coming home from school, I found a man I liked with his girlfriend. While drinking sake bought at the supermarket. A self-documentary that fuses the rakugo technique of “Dochuzuke” with pop culture to follow himself as he strolls through the wonderland of Tokyo while being swallowed up by alcohol and the city. “

Hayato Kawai Prize

『Pick-up』Roh Dohyeon
KOREA / 2019 / 13min / Live Action / Chung-Ang University

≪ Synopsis≫ Joo-hyun, a rookie film crew, picks up an actress who is in his car. However, she mistakenly thinks of an actress and ends up with a prostitute named Hira.

Tatsuo Kobayashi Prize

『Young, Fragile』Joscha Bongard
GERMANY / 2020 / 25min / Live Action / Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg

≪Synopsis≫ In today’s world where gender roles are changing, a young man is inspired by a date he meets through Tinder and decides to live according to his “masculinity”. You can feel the delicate and unstable state of the young man through the conversations he has with his best friend. In addition, the meeting of the young man and the confident older Leili, who has fearlessly gone to meet him, gives us a sharp message. A work that reflects the recent form of love, sexuality, and role models.

Other Selected Works

 

Pre-Event & Collaborative Planning

Pre

Guerrilla Screening in Campus Plaza Kyoto November 21 (Sat), November 28 (Sat)

An outdoor screening was held in front of Campus Plaza Kyoto. Based on the concept of “encountering student films from around the world on the streets of Kyoto,” we screened films produced by students at a local venue. It was a play event that was held while taking all possible measures against the new coronavirus infection, and although we encountered some difficult situations, it was a good experience for our future activities.

Collaborative Projects

Photo Contest Date: December 3 (Thu) ~ January 15 (Fri) A photo contest was held on the official Instagram and Twitter. We set up two categories for the themes of “#映画メシ” and “#映画のようなワンショット” related to films, and solicited submissions. Through the use of social media, we took on the challenge of creating a place where the younger generation would be interested in student-directed films and films.	Kyoto University Hospital Video Distribution Release date: January 6 (Sat) ~ Past winning works have been distributed so that they can be viewed from the monitors of each inpatient bed at Kyoto University Hospital. I think it was a good opportunity to change the mood of hospitalized patients and let a wide range of people know about the existence of the film festival.