The capital city of Japan is enriched in its scenic beauty and is attractive to us for many reasons. The colorful city of Tokyo presents you with an amazing film festival which is named after this beautiful city of Tokyo. The Tokyo Short Film Festival is initiated with a perspective to promote and uplift Independent Films across the globe.
Creativity and culture are the main focus of this festival and specifying that filmmakers from all over the world with the urge to create something unique and genuine are invited to take part in this festival. We believe in fresh talents and providing them the required platform to achieve the most awaited recognition that would change their lives and make them a renowned name in the world of Cinema.
We accept submissions in so many categories so that we can impart a huge scope for filmmakers of each and every dimension. Our motto is:
“No hard work is worth it without recognition!”
And we are here to make the deserving one recognizable in this glamour world of stardom.

The officially selected project in each season receives a TSFF laurel and a certificate. All seasonal Award Winners receive laurel and customized certificates and are rated on their respective IMDb pages (if applicable).

The awards are given in the following categories:

Narrative Feature (Above 40 minutes)
Short Film (Less than 30 minutes)
Experimental Film (Any length)
Student Film (Any length)
Best Director (Any length)
Horror/Science Fiction/Genre Feature Film (Above 40 minutes)
Best Actor (Any Length)
Best Actress
Virtual Reality (VR) / Augmented Reality (AR) and 360° Video (Any Length)
Best Editing
Drone Film (Any Length)
Web and New Media (Any Length)
Mobile Film (Any Length)
Women's Film (Any Length)
LGBT Film (Any Length)
Animated Films (Any Length)
Educational Films (Any Length)
Film on Nature/Environment/Wildlife (Any Length)
One Minute Film
Television/Pilot Program or Series (Any Length)
Commercial/Advertisement
Music Video (Any Length)
Film Poster
Photography
Short Script
Feature Script
Selfie Video
sound design

Besides the CATEGORY AWARDS, there are also OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS, CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS, AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS, and HONOURABLE MENTION AWARDS, which are given, in all categories.

Please read these Rules & Terms carefully before you submit your film. By submitting your film into competition in the Tokyo Short Film Fest (TSFF) you expressly acknowledge and agree that you shall be bound by the terms of these Rules & Terms.

TSFF is open to any film completed after January 1, 2016
regardless of content, subject, or origin. Submitting your film to the TSFF is not a guarantee of selection. All the official selection, nominees, and winners will be listed on our website permanently. All the winning films will receive a trophy, award, or certificate. Please note that we do not offer application fee waivers. We treat every filmmaker equally.

1. Submissions must be accompanied by the applicable submission fee PER ENTRY and a completed online entry form. All films must be in English or have English subtitles at the time submitted.
2. Films must be submitted as an online streaming video via a participating submission platform (WFCN), a password-protected streaming URL (please test before sending).
3. In the event of a password change or link change after submitting, you must email the Festival immediately with that change so we may update your record. If the Festival is not notified of the change and the link is found to be inactive or the password to be incorrect, the submission may be deemed ineligible.
4. The festival has no obligation (other than as stated in these rules or on our website) to disclose any of the following information: i) identities of screeners or judges; ii) notes, feedback, or information relating to the submitted project; and/or iii) details regarding the submission review or selection process.
5. The film submitted to the TSFF for a particular month can be re-submitted at any time for a second chance, considering that we have different judges' panels for each season.
6. A director/producer may submit more than one film in a category and more than one category at a time.
7. A nominee will be privately screened for the TSFF judging panel, and will not be screened initially to the public.
8. “Best” films of each category will receive a laurel & certificate.
9. A filmmaker’s submission fee will not be reimbursed if they decide to withdraw their submission. All entry fees are non-refundable.
10. We require an official trailer or poster, a synopsis, and a link to your film. Please select the correct category while submitting to avoid disqualification. We reserve the right to re-assign films to the appropriate category.