Overview

In the summer of 2020, the “Ibaraki Film Arts Festival” was launched in Ibaraki City, Osaka Prefecture. As the spread of the novel coronavirus forced the cancellation of many cultural events, creating a situation where people couldn’t help but feel restricted in their ability to “express themselves” and “experience” the world, we launched an arts festival that uses “film” as a medium of expression—one accessible to everyone, regardless of region or background. We invited submissions of short films no longer than 8 minutes and 19 seconds from a wide range of participants, regardless of region or age. The duration of 8 minutes and 19 seconds represents “the time it takes for light from the sun to reach us.” Viewing art—which has always earnestly engaged with the self and society throughout history—as “light,” the festival aimed to deliver expressions of our present era to a wide audience across regional boundaries through “film,” an intangible work of light. In previous editions of the Ibaraki Film and Video Art Festival, we incorporated multifaceted evaluation methods—ranging from deliberations by judges drawing on their specialized knowledge and experience to discussions among a multi-generational panel of citizen jurors—as an effort to provide diverse perspectives for considering contemporary visual expression. Subsequently, we held screenings and exhibitions at vacant facilities throughout Ibaraki City, creating spaces where citizens could widely experience film and video as part of their daily lives.

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This year marks the fourth edition of the Ibaraki Film and Video Art Festival. Spanning two years, the festival is structured around two main pillars: “Competition” and “Presentation.” The “Competition” in the first year involves calling for submissions and judging by a panel of jurors. The “Presentation” in the second year features the announcement of award winners, screenings of winning and selected works at various locations throughout Ibaraki City, and installation exhibitions by invited artists, providing opportunities to experience a diverse range of visual media expressions. We also plan to hold workshops related to these two pillars—the “Competition” and “Presentation”—as well as special exhibitions that connect them. Throughout the two-year period, from submission to screening, we aim to create a festival that reaches as many creators and citizens as possible.

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We hope that “film”—which is so closely tied to time—will bridge the past and the present and give us the courage to step forward into the future.

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We hope it will inspire us to take that step forward. We look forward to receiving your submissions.