Learn the Know-How of Branded Movies: THINK by BRANDED vol.5 features Takuma Takasaki of 'PERFECT DAYS' – How Do Companies Want to Be Perceived?

Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, an Academy Award® accredited and Asia's largest international short film festival, will host the final installment, vol.5, of its "THINK by BRANDED" project, which aims to teach companies and local governments about branded movies, on Monday, June 1, 2026, at Akasaka Intercity Conference. This project is a five-part seminar series designed for practical learning on how companies and local governments can produce branded movies. The culmination of the series features Takuma Takasaki, co-screenwriter and producer of the film 'PERFECT DAYS' and a creative director who has worked on numerous impactful corporate campaigns, as a lecturer. The workshop will be highly practical, starting from the fundamental question of "How is our company perceived, and how do we want to be perceived?" and guiding participants to create blueprints for elevating their company's challenges into narratives. This offers a valuable opportunity to update brand strategies from the perspective of a world-class creator. Application URL: https://thinkbybranded260601.peatix.com/. Kicking off with a zeroth session where Hassen Kuniyama and festival president Tetsuya Bessho announced the establishment background and concept of THINK by BRANDED, the first session featured Kentaro Kimura, Executive Officer and International Chief Creative Officer at Hakuhodo and Founder of Hakuhodo Kettle, on the theme of "Storytelling expressions born in the gap between advertising and film," focusing on "new creation conceived from 'what to brand'." The second session explored "thinking about the 'seeds of stories' that our company's services and brands possess," delving into a branded movie by Toray, winner of the 2024 Branded Shorts of the Year, from the perspective of brand communication. The third session welcomed Kairi Manabe, who plans branded movies alongside companies, to discuss how brands can weave stories with society and consumers beyond mere advertising messages. The fourth session featured Yui Ohtsuki (CEO) and Daiki Nito (FinTheater Executive Producer) from FinT Inc., who shared communication design techniques for the SNS era to ensure content isn't "just made and done." *The archived footage of the fourth session is released today.* URL: https://youtu.be/rqlrwlcSQjk. THINK by BRANDED vol.5 Lecturer: Takuma Takasaki (Creative Director). Born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1969. After graduating from Waseda University Faculty of Law, he joined Dentsu. In 2025, he went independent and established WRITING & DESIGN Inc. In 2024, he received his third Creator of the Year award, among many domestic and international advertising awards. For the film "PERFECT DAYS" (directed by Wim Wenders), he was responsible for planning, screenwriting, and producing, which led to Koji Yakusho winning Best Actor at the Cannes International Film Festival and the film being nominated for a US Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. His books include "Auto Reverse," a novel depicting the youth of Kyoko Koizumi's fan club, "The Art of Expression," which compiles advertising skills, and picture books "Makkuro" and "Tomodachi no Ki." He is also the MC for J-WAVE's "BITS & BOBS TOKYO" every Friday midnight. The archived footage of THINK by BRANDED Vol.4, a seminar series encouraging companies to rediscover and nurture their culture and values with colleagues, is released today. Nittetsu Kowa Real Estate and BRANDED SHORTS are currently developing the "THINK by BRANDED" seminar series, focusing on "Branded Shorts" that convey corporate branding through "stories." In the fourth seminar, Yui Ohtsuki (CEO) and Daiki Nito (FinTheater Executive Producer) from FinT Inc., which supports SNS for over 400 major companies including Kao and Mizkan, explained how to deliver produced branded movies to society and SNS and maximize them as corporate assets. [Event Report] "SNS x Short Drama" Paves the Way for Next-Generation Branded Content Strategy. In April 2026, FinT Inc., at the forefront of SNS marketing, discussed its latest video utilization strategy at "THINK by BRANDED Vol.4." CEO Ohtsuki and Producer Nito took the stage to unveil editing techniques for making advertising "personal" and the secrets of strategic "delivery." Shift from Advertising to "Content." At the beginning of the event, Ohtsuki discussed the paradigm shift from "forced recognition to exchange recognition."