(Question)“Why do you want to dance?”
(Reply) “Why do you want to live?”

This famous exchange takes place in “The Red Shoes” (1948), a film based on a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, about the fate of a gifted ballerina. Filmmaker Martin Scorsese names this film as one of his all-time favorites. ‘Over the years, I’ve thought a lot about that exchange. It expresses so much about the burning need for art – the mystery of the passion to create.’

For those of you who have already been spellbound by your own pair of red shoes, this film teaches us that in real life, red shoes can be pure joy, deep conflict, the energy to live, a darkness that can lead to death, a fiery desire, a compulsive determination – all at the same time.

‘It’s not that you want to do it, it’s that you have to do it. You have no choice.’ - Martin Scorsese

The short form has more freedom, more room for improvisation than the long form. Themes can be chosen from ideas born anywhere, anytime, hence their infinite diversity. Creators then find the tools that best fit their work, and bring them to life.

The short form can squeeze vast amounts of energy and information into its small body. From time to time, it gives viewers a little too much or too little room for the imagination. Whether short or long, we make films because we have a story we want to tell, and... because there are people we want to tell them to. Films are born to be watched. And as creators, we must give our films a chance to be watched by as many people as possible - because when a film catches someone’s eye or heart, it leaves its nest to have a life of its own.

In 2017 Autumn... I look forward to seeing new lives being born.

DigiCon6 ASIA Festival director　Aki YAMADA