Video sharing social-network TikTok and Toho, Japan’s biggest and grandest studio, are partnering to launch a film festival aimed at scouting new creative talent.
TheTikTok Toho Film Festival 2021 will start accepting entries worldwide on April 12, with a closing deadline of May 31. Creators should upload their entries, which can be from 15 seconds to 10 minutes long, on TikTok.
Ten finalists will be selected and the winners will be announced between late-June and mid-July, with an awards ceremony being streamed live on TikTok.
There will be a Grand Prize winner, selected by a jury that includes film directors Miike Takashi and Yamada Tomokazu and single-named TikTok creator Shinnosuke.
An audience award winner will be determined by the number of views and likes on TikTok. There will be one runner-up prize in each category.
Software giant Adobe is supplying technical support, such as offering all entrants access to anAdobe Premiere Pro editing workshop. Finalists will have free use of Adobe Creative Cloud software.
The Grand Prize winner will also earn JPY4.5 million ($36,500) of production support from Toho for the creator’s next film, in addition to a JPY300,000 ($2,740) cash prize. The audience award winner will get JPY200,000 ($1,740).
The winner will be expected to shoot and edit their next film in July or August. The finished film, about five minutes in length, will then be streamed on TikTok.
Commenting on the unusual mix of conservative and cutting-edge elements, Miike said: “This has got to be the best battlefield for the next generation of creators. They’ve got no choice but to take part. Let’s find a new tomorrow while freely having fun!”
