Tokyo Lift-Off Film Festival 2023 - Network Round Shorts

Thursday 8th June - Wednesday 14th June

1.

MaTcH
Dir. Masaki Katsuyama
Japan
Logline: An old Japanese mother, Haruko comes to Tokyo from Osaka to see her 30 years old son, Shuji.
Her purpose of the visit is setting up a matchmaking for him because he is still a single man. However, Shuji already uses a matching app to find his partner. On the other hand, Haruko cannot trust the app, so she tries to convince him quit using it.
There is a huge gap occurs in between the parent and child.

2.

HANAROKUSHO
Dir. Sayaka Nakane
Japan
Logline:The Koto is a traditional Japanese instrument. It makes a very beautiful and emotional sound. There is a Japanese expression that says, "Touch the Koto strings." This means "Tug at my heartstrings".
When I heard her performance, her Koto sound tugged at my heartstrings and almost cried. Also, since the KOTO is a traditional Japanese instrument, it is a very closed world. But she is trying new things without being caught in that frame.
The video also represents Tokyo in her new interpretation of traditional Japan in the modern age.

3.

KAGEBOSHI
Dir. Ken Ochiai
USA
Logline: In the 1930's, a Japanese-American father & daughter must play a deadly game of shadow tag to escape from a demon child, Kageboshi.

4.

SUNSET
Dir. Dahrell Williams
USA
Logline: Sunset is about the desire to hold on to something that will inevitably fade away like a setting sun. The film aims to convey the importance of gratitude and the beauty of farewells. A couple is shown together in a period of fading light.

5.

Azar
Dir. Fabián Palacios V.
Mexico
Logline: Julián, a Mexican is teenage boy torn between pursuing his frustrated passion for music and helping out his single mother. He is faced with a decision to steal the trumpet of an old street performer to prove himself a man in front of his friends.

6.

Hammpions
Dir. Krystal Kelley
USA
Logline: Through the eye of the beer holder, Hammpions provides a brief history of Hamm's Beer as well as interviews beer sign collectors, Hamm's family members, Hamm's artists and Hamm's Beer Club members.

7.

The Wake
Dir. Doug Turner
UK
Logline: Scotland’s inshore was once one of the most abundant ecosystems in the world, millions of fish swarmed to the coastline year round to feed, reproduce and replenish the environment. The Scottish fishing industry thrived on taking only what was necessary, and allowing the rest to go unharmed. As with most natural resources, the last 100 years has seen a catastrophic change.Through the eyes of two fishermen who have been calling for change their entire careers, The Wake explores the deep emotion that comes with witnessing the end of something once thought infinite and the loss of communities in the name of progress.

8.

Your Kid
Dir. Sergi Castella
USA
Logline: “Tu Niño” is a love letter from a son yearning to connect with his distant father. It follows the journey of gypsy flamenco dancer, El Niño, who left his conservative community in Spain to immerse himself in the city of Los Angeles. Unsure of what he is searching for he loses himself to the underworld of a decaying society. A visual poem set to the rhythm of his “taconeo” that explores the individualism and alienation that comes when one leaves home. Staring up at the same moon as his father, from different perspectives, he now tries to communicate his loneliness reflecting on his origins with resurrected longing.

9.

Stages of Lost Freedom
Dir. Kamran S Rosen
USA
Logline: Derek 'Dice' Livingston was incarcerated for nearly two decades , during which time he kept a journal of his thoughts. Mirroring the stages of loss—denial, depression, bargaining, anger, and acceptance— this animation uses Dice's own words and narration to show the emotional journey of losing one's identity to long term incarceration, with each entry brought to life by a different animator.

10.

May The Pawn Reaches The End
Dir. Tien Yuan
Taiwan
Logline:  On the afternoon of the high school graduation, Xiaomei experienced her own unique growth.

11.

Globby the Dragon
Dirs. Yun Li, Xin Sun
Hong Kong
Logline: A unique story about the meaning of language, told in a wordless format. A deaf and blind elderly man visits the vet with his pet dragon Globby. Despite the language barrier, love transcends the boundaries of language in their profound relationship.

12.

On/Off
Dir. Jurg Slabbert
South Africa
Logline:  An Afrikaans-speaking man helps his elderly German neighbour in a time of need, despite a language barrier. In the process, he learns volumes about himself.