SSFF & ASIA × Yokohama International Film Festival: From Origin to Co-creation. A new partnership formed to build a 'Bridge of Cinema' for young talents to soar globally.

Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (SSFF & ASIA), an Academy Awards® accredited and Asia's largest international short film festival, has entered into a partnership with the Yokohama International Film Festival Executive Committee (Chairman: Mitsuru Kanno) with the aim of further developing film culture and nurturing the next generation.

This collaboration is based on a shared 'original experience' where Mitsuru Kanno, Chairman of the Yokohama International Film Festival, first encountered SSFF & ASIA as a student and became inspired to pursue a career in film. Together, the two film festivals aim to build a solid route for next-generation creators to spread their wings globally.

By integrating SSFF & ASIA's long-cultivated international network with the Yokohama International Film Festival's new stage as 'Japan's Spring International Film Festival,' a vision of co-creation is set forth: to evolve the city of Yokohama into a new central hub for film culture where cross-border talents intersect.

As a symbolic initiative of this new partnership, two special screenings have been decided for SSFF & ASIA 2026.

We will simultaneously present 'MOVE MAKER The Travis Payne Story,' a documentary depicting the journey of the choreographer who captivated the world as Michael Jackson's right-hand man, and 'Symphony No.0,' a directorial work by Japan's leading composer, Yugo Kanno, who expresses his unique sensibilities. Beginning with these two works, which highly integrate music and visuals, we will co-create new possibilities and exciting impact for cinema, from Yokohama to the world.

The Yokohama International Film Festival and the directors and related parties of the two special screening films are scheduled to appear on the red carpet at the film festival's opening ceremony on Monday, May 25th.

A joint press conference regarding the partnership between the two film festivals was held at the Yokohama International Film Festival reception by SSFF & ASIA representative Tetsuya Bessho and Yokohama International Film Festival representative Mitsuru Kanno.

SSFF & ASIA 2026 Special Screening Films: Available online at the SSFF & ASIA 2026 online venue from May 25th to June 10th.

Travis Payne, Michael Jackson's right-hand man. The story of light and loss of the man who made the world dance.

'MOVE MAKER The Travis Payne Story'

Director: Shaunet Hard & Travis Payne

Cast: Travis Payne

Running Time: 9 minutes

Synopsis:
Travis Payne is known as one of the most distinguished creative minds in the entertainment industry.
This film depicts his journey from southwest Atlanta to achieving global success as a choreographer, director, and producer.
He is particularly known for his work with Michael Jackson, a creative partnership that lasted for approximately 20 years. Payne himself, along with his closest associates and creative partners, narrate the pivotal moments that shaped his career and transformed the world of entertainment. Travis Payne's life is a journey filled with brilliant success and profound loss. The film expresses what it means to 'dance in his shoes' throughout his life.

Composer Yugo Kanno's shocking directorial debut. What remains of humanity when music is taken away?

'Symphony No.0'

Director: Yugo Kanno

Cast: Arisa Urahama, Hana Kumaido, Masaya Kato, Karen Aizome, Robin Rastenberger, Sakura Hagino, Richard E. Wilson

Running Time: 27 minutes 19 seconds

Synopsis:
The story begins with the eccentric premise of 'a world where music does not exist.'
How will humans change when music is brought into the world by two mysterious women?
Yugo Kanno, who believes in the power of music more than anyone, depicts its charm and peril through a philosophical story and painterly color aesthetics.
What is music?
What is humanity?
This ambitious work approaches these fundamental questions.

At the Yokohama International Film Festival, the short film 'Connecting Days' (Director/Screenwriter: Hiroki Inoue, Cast: Kaho Minami, Mahiru Konno, Takashi Matsuo, etc.), produced by Visual Voice Co., Ltd., which plans and operates SSFF & ASIA, will be specially screened.

Screening date and time: Saturday, May 2nd, 9:30 AM

Comment from Mitsuru Kanno, Chairman of the Yokohama International Film Festival Executive Committee:
We are pleased to have entered into a partnership with the Short Shorts Film Festival.
For me, the Short Shorts Film Festival was the first film festival I ever experienced as a student, and it became the gateway to my interest in film.
This partnership with the Short Shorts Film Festival is...