Fancy being the next Pauline Kael or Roger Ebert? International short film festival, Con-Can Movie Festival, is giving the perfect opportunity to budding film critics, and of course regular movie fans, by inviting the public to view films submitted by directors from all over the world. The films, all under 20 minutes in length and representing a variety of genres, are now being streamed online on the festival Web site.

Viewers are invited to watch, critique and give a rating. These ratings will be tallied and taken on board by the distinguished jury that includes Jean-Michel Frodon, editor-in-chief of the high-brow French magazine Cahiers du Cinema, Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao Hsien (whose film "Three Times" was the opening screening at Tokyo FILMeX 2005 recently) and Dennis Lim (senior editor of The Village Voice).

Viewers can sign up for free and gain access to the Screening Room to watch the submitted movies. The voting period has already started and continues through Jan. 22. On Feb. 26, a shortlist of selected films will be announced. On Feb. 24, the jurors' final selection will be streamed online. The winners will be announced Feb. 27.

In addition to a Japanese section, the Web site has an English section for those who want to see films with English subtitles where necessary, and without Japanese subtitles.

To access the films, visit www.con-can.com