The 18th annual Short Shorts Film Festival will take place in Tokyo and Yokohama from June 2 to June 26. Amazingly, all film screenings are free.

The festival was created by actor Tetsuya Bessho, who wanted to expose more Japanese audiences to short films.

This year’s lineup features 200 films selected from more than 6000 submissions from all over the world. Films in the International, Japan, and Asia International competitions will have the chance to compete for the Grand Prix and the opportunity to compete at the Academy Awards. There will also be workshops by directors Nobuhiko Obayashi and Naomi Kawase, photographer Leslie Kee, and actor-director Takumi Saito, among others.

For more information visit shortshorts.org, or see this recent write-up in the Japan Times.