FILM FESTIVAL
EUROASIA SHORTS 2025 |
JAPAN + AUSTRIA COUNTRY PAIRING PROGRAM
The theme for EuroAsia Shorts 2025 is Beyond Limits. Like joy, growth, and change, obstacles are a natural and universal part of life. But it is how we face them—or overcome them—that reveals our true character, values, and shared humanity. Hardships both great and small demands we respond with perseverance, courage, and resilience. Other challenges call for profound resistance and strength when we are pushed beyond our limits or into conflict. The many trials we face in life—as individuals, nations, and humanity as a whole—ultimately require us to look beyond the moment to preserve hope and seek justice, even in the face of insurmountable odds. What would we be were it not for the struggles that fortify and define us?
Join us on June 6th at the JICC! Doors open at 6:30 PM, and the films begin at 7:00 PM. After the screening there will be a short discussion and refreshments.
*All films are subtitled in English. All films are not rated and may contain adult language or themes.
FILM INFO
Friday, June 6, 2025
7:00PM EDT (Doors open at 6:30PM)
In-person at the JICC
Send any inquiries to
jicc@ws.mofa.go.jp
ABOUT THE SHORT FILMS
Instruments of a Beating Heart
In Japanese | 2024| 23 min | Directed by YAMAZAKI Ema Ryan
This Oscar-nominated short film offers a heartfelt glimpse into the lives of first-grade students at a Tokyo public school. For their final semester, they face a unique challenge: to form an orchestra and perform at the entrance ceremony, welcoming a new class of first graders. As the children are taught to “make your hearts as one” and rehearse tirelessly, we witness both the pressures and the joys of being part of a collective effort. Through the eyes of Ayame, we experience the character-building traditions of Japanese education, as she learns to be resilient in the face of new challenges. The film explores the powerful journey of overcoming obstacles, a vital part of education. But it also raises the question: where should the balance lie between discipline and freedom?
Strangers Like Us
In German | 2024 | 22 min | Directed by Felix Krisai, Pipi Fröstl
Laura and Elias have invited the couple Nina and Patrick over for dinner. At first, pleasantries are exchanged, and the quiet charm of suburban life is on display. But for Laura, the polite facade soon unravels into a series of absurdities: the guests begin to ignore social conventions and increasingly make themselves at home—feeding the cat, using their toothbrushes, even laying claim to the bedroom.
あたしだけをみて | Look at Me Only
In Japanese | 2016 | 7 min | Directed by MISATO Tomoki
MISATO Tomoki is one of Japan’s most exciting young directors and stop-motion animators. Since his university days, his distinctive short films have captured the attention of audiences and critics alike. This summer, his latest work, My Melody and Kuromi, will be released worldwide on Netflix.
As part of EuroAsia Shorts, we are delighted to showcase one of his early works: Look at Me Only. This short film, created as Mr. Misato’s graduation project, received the Grand Prix at the TOHO Cinemas Student Film Festival in Japan.
In Look at Me Only, a man, having lost the spark and excitement of his early relationship, now drifts through life, finding quiet comfort in caring for his guinea pig. One day, he encounters a flower-like beauty who notices and appreciates the pet—awakening emotions he had long forgotten.
Die letzte Wette | The Last Bet
In German | 2024 | 14 min | Directed by Meike Wüstenberg
The elderly couple Ernst and Leni regularly place bets on the last piece of chocolate. This time, they wager on who will die first. Both want to go first, but for very different reasons. Darkly humorous and refreshingly unsentimental, yet full of heart, their story reveals one undeniable truth: they simply can’t live without each other.
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