[Announced at SSFF & ASIA 2026 Awards Ceremony] Supporting Creators Worldwide: Japan Chokuhan Presents the AYET Project Short Drama Planning Contest!

Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (SSFF & ASIA), an Academy Awards-accredited international short film festival and one of Asia's largest, announced the launch of a pitch contest to solicit short drama proposals from creators worldwide, in collaboration with Japan Chokuhan Co., Ltd., at the SSFF & ASIA 2026 Awards Ceremony held on June 10.

At the Awards Ceremony, Yasushi Akimoto, General Producer for Japan Chokuhan, and Akifumi Mizutani, Representative Director, along with Kumi Sasaki, Ambassador for the AYET Project, and Hayato Aoyama and Masaki Shiota from the Showa Kayō & Pops group "SHOW-WA," announced the "Short Drama Planning Contest."

The "Short Drama Planning Contest" is part of the creator discovery and development initiatives under the AYET Project. The project and Japan Chokuhan will provide production funds to create video works, aiming for the global dissemination of original IPs, and will broadly solicit proposals related to this endeavor from creators around the world.

Winners of the contest will be given the opportunity to participate in the production of a short drama with a production budget of 10 million yen, working towards the completion of the work alongside Yasushi Akimoto and professional editors. Upon the release of the work, they will receive credit as the original planner and royalties from commercial profits. The issuance of a participation certificate (VC) utilizing blockchain is also planned.

In a video message, General Producer Yasushi Akimoto expressed his expectations for the AYET Project, a collaboration with the UCLA blockchain development team and Japan Chokuhan, to create opportunities for young talent to participate in video production, and his anticipation that these opportunities will be provided through collaboration with SSFF & ASIA. He stated that he looks forward to many applications.

Furthermore, Akifumi Mizutani, Representative Director of Japan Chokuhan, who took the stage, mentioned that the AYET Project aims to promote Japanese content overseas and foster the development of global creators. He added that by creating IPs through the formation of new units and the creation of derivative 2D characters, and by involving domestic and international communities while utilizing these IPs, they aim to create a platform for creators to thrive internationally.

Tetsuya Bessho, Representative of SSFF&ASIA, responded by saying, "This project has begun through a wonderful connection. We will cooperate with all our might." He expressed his enthusiasm, stating, "We will strongly support this initiative by leveraging our expertise as an international film festival and by utilizing LIFE LOG BOX, a WEB3.0 creator platform."

The first call for entries is scheduled to begin on July 10. Detailed information regarding applications will be announced on a special page when the application period opens.

About LIFE LOG BOX:

This WEB3.0 era video operation platform, linked with SSFF & ASIA and boasting a network of over 100,000 creators domestically and internationally, enables anyone to create and distribute content as a creator, supported by the proliferation of smartphones, SNS, and video distribution services. Centered around data storage services, it offers services that allow creators to thrive. Creators, fans, and companies worldwide can list portfolios and viewing rights to disseminate creator and work information, connecting to an NFT marketplace that returns profits to creators.

Outline of Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2026:

Event Period: May 25 (Mon): Opening Ceremony May 26 (Tue) - June 9 (Tue): Tokyo Venue June 10 (Wed): Awards Ceremony *Online Venue: May 25 (Mon) - June 30 (Tue) *Tickets: ¥2,500 (within Japan) / $15 USD (outside Japan) Inquiries: [email protected] Official Website: https://www.shortshorts.org/2026 Organizers: Short Shorts Executive Committee / Short Shorts Asia Executive Committee