The results of the International Short Film Competition can be found here.
Dates
Friday, February 27, 2026 – Sunday, March 1, 2026
Venue
Okhotsk Cultural Exchange Center (3-3, Kita 2-jo Nishi 3-chome, Abashiri City, Hokkaido)
Organizer
Hokkaido International Film Festival Executive Committee
Co-organizers
Hokkaido International Film Festival Abashiri Executive Committee, Abashiri Association
Supported by
Hokkaido Prefecture, Hokkaido Board of Education, Okhotsk Regional Development Bureau, Hokkaido Transport Bureau, Abashiri City, Abashiri City Board of Education, Abashiri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Abashiri Junior Chamber International, Abashiri City Tourism Association, Okhotsk Tourism Federation, Hokkaido Entertainment and Public Health Association, Hokkaido Shimbun Press, Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting
February 27
6:30 PM Pre-Festival Event [Free Admission]
Tokyo University of Agriculture, YOSAKOI Soran Noutenki Dance Performance.
Two short films produced by students from a local high school’s broadcasting club will be screened.
Tomorrow We Read Together（8 min）
Don’t drop it on the floor!（8 min）
February 28
9:30 Opening Ceremony [Free Admission]
Following on from the previous day, Noutenki performed Yosakoi Soran dance.
11:00 Short Film Comp. Animation A
Silili and Tree
Hong Kong｜15 min｜Eric Lee
Silili, an elf born from a mother tree, sets out in search of her ideal form. Unaware, her journey wounds a single tree, yet preserves the island’s plant life.
DUNDUN
China｜15 min｜BIN WANG
In a closing toy store, two purple dolls struggle to be chosen. Their wish goes unfulfilled, and they are thrown away.
CELESTE
Brazil｜30 min｜FERNANDO M. MACEDO
Celeste sees the world with joy and hope. Trapped in a tower, she discovers her dragon guardian is captive too, and they set out together.
13:00 Short Film Comp. Drama A
The Quirky Residents
Japan｜23 min｜Natsuko Aratama
After repeated rejections, manga artist Suzuki erupts in her chaotic apartment. Amid madness and daily life, she finally lands her first published work.
Guest: Lead Actor Moe Tanaka
TAMAGO
Italy｜18 min｜Orso, Peter ＆ Ben Miyakawa
A virgin Tatsu and Kazu, who transforms into a beautiful girl after eating an egg sandwich, spend a bizarre, comedic night together.
Guest: Actor and Co-Producer
To. You
South Korea｜21 min｜Young min Kim
ang-jo, a high school student, struggles with his first love, Hee-yeon. When he finally gathers the courage to confess his feelings, it only deepens the distance between them.
Guest: Director
Santa Catalina
USA｜18 min｜Alexander Alexandrov
In a world devastated by a virus, Eugene and Minho return to their childhood home to find their parents’ legacy. Two locked closets hide a truth that traps them in a deadly crisis.
16:00 Short Film Comp. Fantastic A
The Reach
Italy｜28 min｜Luca Caserta
Stella Flanders, the oldest resident of Goat Island, has never crossed to the mainland. One winter, visions of her lost loved ones lead her on a quiet journey between life and death.
Goldiocks zone project
South Korea｜18 min｜Jung-soo Kim
In a world ruined by a viral outbreak, Eugene and Minho return to their childhood home seeking their parents’ legacy. Two sealed closets conceal a truth that leads them into an inescapable crisis.
Guest: Director
Awakening
Israel｜6 min｜Sonya Dukhon
An elderly couple performs a forbidden ritual to revive their dead friend and reclaim their youth. What starts as a strange act of hope turns into a darkly comic reckoning with time, desire, and the price of defying death.
Measurements
Italy｜20 min｜Marta Capossela
In the cramped rooms of a small apartment, a couple’s life is shaped by quiet psychological abuse. He measures her daily, recording every change in her body. Even after she rebels, the trauma remains.
18:00 Short Film Comp. Drama B
Here/There
Japan｜30 min｜Hiroshi horiuchi
The struggles and joys born in the process of creating something, the uncertainty and sincerity of acting. Beyond that, we come to realize where we truly belong.
Guest: Director
I AM GOD
China｜25 min｜Rui Wang
Cursed to die unless he keeps drinking, Enōsui seeks the legendary liquor “Shinsen Sake.”
Swimming Lesson
China｜20 min｜Lianghong Deng
In the 1970s, a boy named Kang lives in a poor village across from Hong Kong. His mother once swam across the sea and never returned.
March 1
10:00 Short Film Comp. Animation B
Children of the Bird
Hungary｜12 min｜ Julia Tudisco
A wild girl who has the power to create things,and a shy boy who has the power to destroy them. The two are innocent, god-like children with mysterious abilities.
Tiny Little Journey
South Korea｜24 min｜Jinwoo Lee
An ant leaves the safety of his nest in search of paradise, only to face a harsh winter storm. Does the paradise he dreamed of truly exist?
In Half
Spain｜24 min｜ Jorge Morais Valle
Guided by a child’s imagination, a fearful man enters a magical other world. Where past and future collide, can he overcome his fear?
12:00 Short Film Comp. Fantastic B
Night Routine
Japan｜11 min｜Kazuki Watanabe
Every night, the same routine is repeated. Images meant to heal and soothe quietly invade a private space, gradually warping perception and control.
Guest: Screenplay: Yoshitaka Yasuda
Door to Tommorow
South Korea｜4分｜Junghwi Souk
A weary office worker, Kang Dae-soo, unexpectedly encounters “The Door to Tomorrow” on his way home late one night.
Guest: Director
The Call
Kazakhstan｜27 min｜Asem Kuanyshbayeva
After a violent argument, Farhat goes to his fiancée Galia’s home drunk, and a tragic accident leaves her dead. Overcome with guilt, he calls the police to surrender—when his phone rings. It’s Galia.
Witness of Harm
South Korea｜16 min｜Cheong Ye Lee
Everyone is born with a guardian spirit and a demon. Eun-ji, a shaman’s kindhearted daughter, sees her longtime boyfriend Hyun-woo vanish just before her birthday—only for Su-hyeok to appear in his place.
14:00 Short Film Comp. Family
Ramen Rider
Japan｜13 min｜ Hugh Nettelbeck
Actress Rina had lost sight of the joy of acting. One day, she was asked to babysit her nephew Daisuke and ended up playing “hero games” with him.
Guest: Director
Papa’s Coding Day
Philippines｜19 min｜Michael Pogoy
A father works tirelessly as a three-wheeled taxi driver. His son’s secret savings for him eventually create a small miracle.
Guest: Director
Nyingma.. Through her eyes.
India｜20 min｜ Liton Paul
Nyingma, a young girl living in a small village high in the Himalayas, dreams of going to school.
Paradise Lost
Japan｜16 min｜ Goushi Suzuki
Toshiya lost his winning lottery ticket. The day he began searching desperately gradually became colored by unexpected encounters and events.
※Kaka’s Winter Break Diary (Director: Joe Shi | China) has been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances.
16:30 HIFF Selection AI & Special Screening
The world I met with you
South Korea | 21 min | Pilju Jung
World leaves a Mars colonization program due to the climate crisis.
Returning to Earth with a warning for humanity, he ultimately crosses into another world in despair.
GRANDMALEVIT
Japan | 14 min | Hiroki Yamaguchi
In a society where evolving machines and humans coexist, the choice made by an elderly woman, Revito, sends quiet ripples across the fate of the world.
August 32nd
South Korea | 15min | Yunbin AN
Sejin meets a girl during a summer at his grandmother’s house. Wishing it would last forever, time distorts, trapping him in a repeating summer.
Guest: Director and Editer
Lákura
Japan ｜20 min｜Yoshiyuki Fuji
Lákura, a shop housed in a century-old warehouse, is facing closure as demolition approaches. As the owner prepares to open the shop as usual, a young woman appears.
Guest: Director
18:30 Closing & Awards Ceremony [Free Admission]
Admission Fees (Tax Included)
- 1-DAY PASS (All screenings on one day) ¥1,500
- 2-DAY PASS (All screenings over two days) ¥3,000
Access
