The short film, “Salad Bread” features a real-life bakery in Sapporo. The short film of 20 minutes begins with a simple phrase spoken by daughter Shoko to her parents. Unlike feature films that can run two hours or more, short films must be shorter than 30 minutes. It can be a difficult genre, as Directors have a short amount of time to capture an audience.
Born in Kushiro of Hokkaido and living in Sapporo, Eiji Shimada studied film production in Southern California. His film “Hands” features two characters. He expressed the movements of hands that can both bring people closer together or push each other away, granting himself selection in the Short Shorts Film Festival held in 2000. This became the beginning of Shimada’s journey down the path of filmmaking.
“Salad Bread” is Shimada’s 20th short film since he started filmmaking when he was 24. He shies away from over-the-top acting, focusing more on subtle moments, which has brought him much praise.
Shimada first felt the meaning of the phrase, “from Hokkaido to the world” in 2003. His short film, “6pm,” won an award for best short film in the California Independent Film Festival. Following his success, the film was screened in England, Germany, Italy, and Iran. “You might swing and miss, but everything begins when you come up to bat and give it your best swing,” he says.
In 2008 Shimada became an associate professor at the Hokkaido Information University Information Media Department. As he stands up to the podium, he also embarks on a new journey to “shoot a feature film in Hokkaido.”
“Salad Bread” will screen during the Sapporo International Short Film Festival, beginning on October 14th. It will screen at the Sapporo Toho plaza on October 16th at 2pm and 17th at 6pm. For more details please take a look at the festival website: http://www.sapporoshortfest.jp/
Free Writer Yuko Sato
Translation: David Neptune
