The works nominated for the “East Asian Experimental Competition” have been decided!

The “East Asian Experimental Competition” received a total of 400 submissions from Japan, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and South Korea, and after two carefully conducted rounds of screening the following 32 works were selected for nomination. These nominated works will be screened at each venue of the 37th Image Forum Festival. The final evaluation will be conducted during the screenings at the Tokyo venue by the final jurors, and 7 of them will be awarded prizes.

The 32 works nominated for the “East Asian Experimental Competition”

ABITA nakice (OKUNO Miwa FUJISHIRO Yohei) / digital / 20min. / 2022 (Japan)
Again the Ants Reincarnate Adiong LU / digital / 24min. / 2022 (Taiwan)
An Asian Ghost Story Bo WANG / digital / 37min. / 2023 (China / Netherlands)
Belong CHEN SHUANG / digital / 10min. / 2022 (China / Japan)
Brilliant A YoungEun KIM / digital / 17min. / 2022 (Korea / US)
Confessional Somnium SHI Shengxue / digital / 4min. / 2022 (China / Japan)
Delivery Dancer's Sphere Ayoung KIM / digital / 26min. / 2023 (Korea)
fur Zhen LI / digital / 7min. / 2022 (China / US)
Howling KAWAZOE Aya / digital (original format: 16mm) / 24min. / 2022 (Japan)
I Am A Horse IM Chaerin / digital / 8min. / 2022 (Korea)
I stitch my skin to the ground USAMI Nao / digital / 22min. / 2023 (Japan)
Juxtaposed LAND ALIMO / digital / 8min. / 2023 (Japan)
let me tell you a secret ZHAO Yanbin / digital (original format: 16mm) / 5min. / 2022 (China / US)
LETHE GOSHIMA Kazuhiro / digital / 21min. / 2023 (Japan)
my mother TAKEHARA Yu / digital / 5min. / 2022 (Japan)
Nachtmusik HOMUTA Chihiro / digital / 22min. / 2023 (Japan)
No changes have taken in our life XU Jingwei / digital / 44min. / 2022 (China)
Obscured Visions SHIBATA Hina / digital / 22min. / 2023 (Japan)
ok, you are gone. Oct 05 2022 TSENG Yu Chin / digital / 10min. / 2022 (Taiwan / Netherlands)
Sewing Love XU Yuan / digital / 9min. / 2023 (China / Japan)
Shape of the Elephant Sam KUWA / digital / 8min. / 2023 (China / Japan)
Spilliaert Lisa SPILLIAERT / digital / 29min. / 2023 (Japan / Belgium)
STRAW LIU Mingcheng / digital / 8min. / 2022 (China / Japan)
Teetering Graphite Cherlyn Hsing-Hsin LIU / digital (original format: 35mm) / 13min. / 2022 (Taiwan / US)
The Eyeball Person MURAOKA Yuri / digital / 12min. / 2023 (Japan)
The Nighthawk Is Not A Hawk WANG Junjie / digital / 9min. / 2022 (China / Japan)
The Perfect Human Lilan Yang / digital (original format: 16mm) / 13min. / 2023 (China / US)
The shooters YANG Jihoon / digital / 31min. / 2022 (Korea)
The Stream XII-II SAKURAI Hiroya / digital / 5min. / 2022 (Japan)
Tunnel Wandering LI Zehao / digital / 11min. / 2023 (China / Japan)
Who owns the story? KUNIMOTO Takashi / 30min. / 2023 (Japan / German)
ライカワアッ /laɪkawaːʔ/ NOSE Daisuke / digital / 2min. / 2023 (Japan)

ABITA
nakice (OKUNO Miwa FUJISHIRO Yohei)

Again the Ants Reincarnate
Adiong LU

An Asian Ghost Story
Bo WANG

Belong
CHEN SHUANG

Brilliant A
YoungEun KIM

Confessional Somnium
SHI Shengxue

Delivery Dancer's Sphere
Ayoung KIM

fur
Zhen LI

Howling
KAWAZOE Aya

I Am A Horse
IM Chaerin

I stitch my skin to the ground
USAMI Nao

Juxtaposed LAND
ALIMO

let me tell you a secret
ZHAO Yanbin

LETHE
GOSHIMA Kazuhiro

my mother
TAKEHARA Yu

Nachtmusik
HOMUTA Chihiro

No changes have taken in our life
XU Jingwei

Obscured Visions
SHIBATA Hina

ok, you are gone. Oct 05 2022
TSENG Yu Chin

Sewing Love
XU Yuan

Shape of the Elephant
Sam KUWA

Spilliaert
Lisa SPILLIAERT

STRAW
LIU Mingcheng

Teetering Graphite
Cherlyn Hsing-Hsin LIU

The Eyeball Person
MURAOKA Yuri

The Nighthawk Is Not A Hawk
WANG Junjie

The Perfect Human
Lilan Yang

The shooters
YANG Jihoon

The Stream XII-II
SAKURAI Hiroya

Tunnel Wandering
LI Zehao

Who owns the story?
KUNIMOTO Takashi

ライカワアッ /laɪkawaːʔ/
NOSE Daisuke
※Title  Director / Format / Duration / Year (Director’s region of birth / current region of residence)
 

Application

“The Image Forum Festival,” the largest festival of moving image art in Japan, is accepting submissions of original moving image works. There are no restrictions whatsoever on genre (art films, documentaries, animated works, dramas, and so on), techniques used, or length. We are looking for works that go beyond existing concepts to expand the horizon of visual expression.

Application period: January 27th (Fri) to April 21st (Fri), 2023

Application section: East Asian Experimental Competition
▶ Application guidelines
▶ Application form(PDF)
▶ Application form

 

What is the Image Forum Festival’s “East Asian Experimental Competition”?

The Image Forum Festival is a festival of moving image art that brings together for screening works with a high degree of expression, artistry, and creativity. A successor to “New Works of Underground Cinema” (1973-1975) and “Experimental Film Festival” (1981-1985), this festival, which expanded to include more international content and an open competition section, began in 1987 and is being held for the 37th time this year.
The festival’s open competition section has come to be known as a gateway to success for groundbreaking young filmmakers in Japan, and in previous years has featured works by filmmakers and artists who have gone on to international success such as YAMAMURA Koji, KAWASE Naomi, IGUCHI Noboru, ISHIDA Takashi, and WADA Atsushi. Last year we have expanded this section (formerly known as the “Japan Tomorrow” section) that had been restricted to Japanese works and relaunched it as the “East Asian Experimental Competition.”

▶ Previous year : 36th Image Forum Festival
▶ Previous year : The awarded films and Jury comments


 

What does it mean to be nominated?

The (approximately 25) works that make it through the first and second rounds of selection will be screened at this year's festival along as works nominated for prizes. The final selection will begin when the festival opens and the following prizes will be awarded.

 ●Grand Prize (1): ¥300,000 + Prize certificate
 ●TERAYAMA Shuji Prize (1): ¥100,000 + Prize certificate
 ●SHIBUYA SKY Prize (1): ¥100,000 + Prize certificate
 ●Excellence Prize (3): ¥30,000 + Prize certificate
 ●Audience Prize (1): Prize certificate

Image Forum will also recommend nominated works for selection at various film festivals both in Japan and overseas and include them in programs it curates for overseas festivals.

We curated the selected program of recent years’ nominated works for the following festivals and projects this year:

2021
- “Crossroads program: IMAGE FORUM” The 6th Moscow International Experimental Film Festival, Moscow
- “Chase After-Images: IFF2020 selected program” Bali International Short Film Festival MINIKINO FILM WEEK 7, Bali
- “Gardens Inside Box: IFF2020 selected program” SeaShorts Film Festival 2021 online, Malaysia
- “Me, Between Somewhere and Nowhere: Women Animation Artists from Japan” REDCAT, California
- “Image Forum Short Films Program: Whose eyes?” Wathann Film Festival #10 online screening, Myanmar

2022
- “The 34th and 35th Image Forum Festival selected program” Lumen Quarterly 2021 Winter, Beijing
- “Image Forum program 1&2” Slow Forward #4 by Indeks, Indonesia
- “Japanese Experimental Cinema: Contemporary” LIGHTS FROM THE UNDERGROUND, Yangon
- Festival Accès Asie, Montreal

 

Final evaluation jury

ENDO Maiko (film director and artist)
HOSAKA Kenjiro (director, Shiga Museum of Art)
Mark TOSCANO (curator, film preservationist, and educator)

 

Schedule・Outline

37th Image Forum Festival

■Venue, Date:
・Tokyo: September 30th ( Sat ) to October 6th ( Fri ), 2023 / Theatre Image Forum
・Kyoto: November 17th ( Fri ) to 19th ( Sun ), 2023 / The Museum of Kyoto (tentative)
・Nagoya: November 23rd ( Thu ) to 26th ( Sun ), 2023 / Aichi Arts Center (tentative)


■Main Program:
East Asian Experimental Film Competition
Experimental Panorama
Filmmakers In Focus

■Organizer:Image Forum
■Co-organizer:The Museum of Kyoto, Aichi Prefectural Museum of ART (tentative)
■Grant:Japan Arts Fund
■Sponsor:Daguerreo Press Inc.
 

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