An outdoor film programme highlighting the artistic, playful, and expressive form of short and medium length films.

Platform, Objectifs
Fri 5 Sep 2025, 7.30pm – 9.30pm
Curated by GINZAZA
Screening Rating: TBC
Entry by donation at the door, suggested donation $10 – $15 per pax.
Please RSVP here.

Now Showing: Where There’s Water Film Screening
Curated by GINZAZA

Themed around water, the programme highlights the artistic, playful, and expressive form of short films. Please stay tuned for more details on the programme and its related events.

Bath House of Whales by Kiyamamizuki / 7 min / 2019 / Japan

In this small town somewhere in Japan, the mothers in the neighborhood end their day at the public bath. When a little girl goes along with her mother, she is awed by the sight of a group of bathing women who behave very differently from the others. Within that group is her mother and she blends in perfectly.

The Unseen River by Pham Ngoc Lan / 23 min / 2020 / Laos/Vietnam
Stories told along the river: a woman reunites with her old lover at a hydroelectric plant; meanwhile, a young man travels downstream to a temple with his girlfriend in search of a cure for his insomnia.
Buzzkill by Kathy E. Mitrani / 11 min / 2020 / USA
A teenage girl takes her younger sister to a pool party with some older boys. A game of Never Have I Ever takes an unexpected turn.
Star Ferry by Simon Liu / 8 min / 2018 / Hong Kong
Time-condensed 35mm imagery of Hong Kong and Tokyo meld together to form impressions of city life by day and night. As an exploration of the energy found in transient moments between final destinations, Star Ferry attempts to construct a cinematic replica of the circadian rhythms of these two metropolises. Shot entirely with a 35mm still camera, the work is structured between moments of stasis and frenetic movement – drawing out tensions between abrupt passages forward past neon signs and LED advertisements to quiet observations of personal rituals.

About the filmmakers

A graduate from Kanazawa College of Art, Department of Fine Art, Oil Painting course in 2015, Kiyamamizuki subsequently received a master’s degree from the Department of Animation at Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School of Film and New Media in 2019. Her MFA degree work Bath House of Whales, was selected for the Lotte Reiniger Promotion Award, from Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film 2020. Her other film On the Way Home (2018) received the Best Student Animation Film Award from XV International Festival-Workshop of Film Schools Kinoproba (Ekaterinburg, Russia) and has screened domestically and internationally, including at the 64th International Short Film Festival Oberhausen (Oberhausen,Germany)

Pham Ngoc Lan was born and raised in Hanoi, Vietnam. After completing a degree in urban planning, he became a self-taught filmmaker at the age of 27. He is an alumnus of Berlinale Talents in Berlin (2015 and 2018) and Tokyo (2017). He has also participated in SEAFIC x Produire au Sud (2016), Busan APM (2016) and the Cannes L’Atelier (2017). His first documentary short film, The Story of Ones (2012), was selected for numerous festivals while his subsequent fiction films Another City (2016) and Blessed Land (2019) both premiered in Berlinale Shorts. His debut feature film, Cu Li Never Cries, celebrated its world premiere in the 2024 Panoramaand received the GWFF Best First Feature Award, among many other accolades.

Kathy E. Mitrani is a Colombian filmmaker based in New York where she received her MFA from Columbia University. Kathy’s latest short film, Sombras Nada Más (2023) premiered at San Sebastian International Film Festival, was awarded Jury Special Mention at Leeds International Film Festival, Best Cinematography at Bogoshorts in Colombia and Best Student Short at Caminhos do Cinema Português. The short film continues its festival circuit in 2025 garnering festival selections around the world. Her other short films, Buzzkill (2020) and Rozada (2019), screened internationally in festivals such as AFI Fest, Chicago International Film Festival, Curta Cinema in Rio de Janeiro and Palm Springs ShortFest and were both selected as Vimeo Staff Picks. Kathy also taught screenwriting at Columbia University’s undergraduate program and worked as an Assistant Professor in their MFA program mentoring directing and screenwriting students. She is currently developing her debut feature, La Danza de Las Sombras, supported by Ikusmira Berriak de San Sebastian, TFL ScriptLab and Cine Qua Non Storylines Lab.

Simon Liu (b. Hong Kong, 1987) is an artist filmmaker whose practice centers on the rapidly evolving psychological and sociopolitical landscapes of his homeland of Hong Kong through material abstraction, speculative history, and subversion of documentary cinema practices via short films, multi-channel video installations, mixed media prints, and 16mm projection performances. His work has been exhibited at institutions including the Whitney Biennial 2024, Museum of Modern Art, MOCA Los Angeles, The Shed, PICA, Tai Kwun Contemporary, Museum of the Moving Image, Everson Museum, Moderna Museet, “Dreamlands: Expanded”, and the M+ Museum. His films have screened at festivals globally including the Toronto, New York, Berlin, Rotterdam, BFI London, Edinburgh, Jeonju, and Hong Kong International Film Festivals alongside the Sundance Film Festival, New Directors/New Films, CPH:DOX, Cinéma du Réel, Punto de Vista, Viennale, and the Media City Film Festival. The M+ Museum and MoMA recently acquired Liu’s Quadruple 16mm Projection Highview, along with other recent works, for their Permanent Collections. He is currently editing his first feature film, Staffordshire Hoard.

Curator’s Bio

GINZAZA is a short film playground. Each edition is a unique exploration into the short film format.

【The People Behind Ginzaza】

Neo Sora – Founder and Programmer of GINZAZA
Film director, translator and artist based in New York and Tokyo. His short film, The Chicken (2020), had its world premiere at the Locarno International Film Festival and his first feature fiction film Happyend (2024) premiered at Venice Film Festival and is opening theatrically around the world.

Aiko Masubuchi – Founder and Programmer of GINZAZA
Aiko Masubuchi is a film programmer, producer and translator based inTokyo and New York. She has programmed film series’ and festivals at places such as MoMA, Film Forum, Film at Lincoln Center. She has produced films including Neo’s The Chicken, and Happyend.

Ray Masaki – Branding and overall design of GINZAZA, from the website to the magazine.
Japanese-American graphic designer born in New York and living and working in Tokyo since 2017. He studied at Parsons School of Design, The Cooper Union, and the Vermont College of Fine Arts. In 2022, he started Studio RAN.

Kimi Idonuma – Editor and Programmer of GINZAZA. Editor of their zine, ZineZaZa
Editor, writer. Born in Fukushima Prefecture, currently living in Tokyo. She organizes Hadakeru Kōsen, a project centered on screenings and writings on film.