Shunji Iwai

Kyrie (2023)

Luca lost her family in the Great East Japan Earthquake causing her not to be able to speak. However, her singing voice shakes the hearts of those who listen to her. It is a hymn of compassion played by Luca and the people. ...

A Summer Solstice Story (2023)

The first summer to spend together with Toru. In the hot, humid room, Yuko can think only about Toru. As she peeks into Toru's room through binoculars.... The story depicts a summer day filled with love and madness of a girl who waits for her beloved to ...

Lemon Colored Dream (2023)

Io is an art student who has a habit of keeping a dream diary. After losing her lemon-colored paint somewhere, she became close to Miyama-senpai, and he invited her to work part-time at a furniture store. One day, a gigantic man she met at her delivery add ...

The 12 Day Tale of the Monster that Died in 8 (2020)

An actor who has lost his job due to the coronavirus buys capsule monsters online and begins to raise them. ...

Last Letter (2020)

It is only at their sister's and mother's funeral when a woman meets her niece after many years. The niece is now a grown girl. The sister takes on the task of informing the deceased's friends of the death while the daughter cannot bring herself to symboli ...

Little Letter (2020)

A girl gets a message from her mother during an stressful exam period. ...

Last Letter (2018)

All Yuan Zhinan has left behind when she passed away is a letter and an invitation to a school reunion. Attending the reunion in lieu of her late elder sister, Zhihua accidentally runs into Yin Chuan, on whom she had a crush in her youth. As old memories a ...

Fireworks (2017)

Moshimo, Japan. The annual fireworks festival is about to take place and a group of schoolboys, arguing over whether they are round or flat when viewed from different angles, set out to find it out. ...

Chang-ok's Letter (2017)

Housewife Eun-ha is busy every day: In addition to taking care of her husband who doesn't help out at all and her willful daughter and son, she has to care for her nagging mother-in-law, who is nearly bedridden. ...

ENTO KUKAN in INUJIMA (2016)

Swallowtail Butterfly 20th Anniversary concert at Inujima Seirensho Museum as part of Setouchi Triennale 2016 ...

Miracle (2016)

Short directed by Shunji Iwai for the song Miracle by illion, Youjirou Noda's solo project, in the album "P.Y.L. ...

A Bride for Rip Van Winkle (2016)

A woman hires actors and strangers to pretend to be her friends and family at her wedding. ...

Ainone (2015)

A short film consisting of rotoscoped clips from 'Swallotwail Butterfly,' set to the music of the film's Yentown band. ...

Cities in Love (2015)

Florence, Prague, Paris, Shanghai, Otaru of Hokkaido, five different love stories in five different cities. ...

The Case of Hana & Alice (2015)

After transferring to Ishinomori Middle School, Tetsuko "Alice" Arisugawa overhears her classmates discussing a strange rumor. The previous occupant of her seat, a nondescript "Judas," is missing and presumed murdered. Amidst dealing with her mother's unde ...

Town Workers (2014)

An omnibus work portraying the lives of youth who have just started to work. Town Workers was produced using rotoscoping, an animation technique which traces live-action performances. It was created in collaboration with Town Work, a part-time job magazine ...

Far Away, So Close (2013)

27-year-old Sakumi Shimura lost the last 10 years of her memory from a car accident. Sakumi can only remember events up to when she was 17-years-old, but she accepts her fate and tries to stay positive. Nevertheless, Sakumi is bothered by the loss of her m ...

I Have to Buy New Shoes (2012)

Freelance writer Aoi Teshigahara lives in Paris, France. Sen Yagami is a photographer who came to Paris, France due to his younger sister Suzume's insistance. Over the next 3 days, Aoi Teshigahara and Sen Yagami fall in love. Meanwhile, Suzume meets her bo ...

Vampire (2011)

An outwardly normal schoolteacher preys on suicidal women to slake his overwhelming thirst for human blood. ...

Friends After 3.11 (2011)

In March 2011, Japan was struck by a catastrophic earthquake, with the devastating tsunami that followed causing a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power station that sent ripples of discontent throughout the country. Director Iwai Shunji's Friends after ...

Documentary of AKB48 The Future 1mm Ahead (2011)

"Documentary Of AKB48 : The Future 1mm Ahead" is the first AKB48 documentary which was aired on NHK. The movie feature various moments of 2010, such as the AKB48 Request Hour Setlist Best 100 2010, their Yokohama Arena concert, AKB48 Manseki Matsuri Kibou ...

Bandage (2010)

Set in the 1990s during Japan's "band boom" era, the film tells the tale of a girl in high school, Asako, who goes to a concert and meets Natsu, vocalist of the new band LANDS. Asako ends up being the band manager, but as the band's popularity starts to so ...

Baton (2009)

Baton is a collection of three 20-minute Sci-fi anime films dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Yokohama city. On Planet Abel, human-like robot Apollo (Ichihara Hayato, Rookies) and robot-like human Mikaru (Ueto Aya, Azumi) come upon ...

Halfway (2009)

In this high school romance Hiro is dismayed to learn her new love Shu will be going away to college in Tokyo. She asks him not to go. ...

New York, I Love You (2008)

New York, I Love You delves into the intimate lives of New Yorkers as they grapple with, delight in and search for love. Journey from the Diamond District in the heart of Manhattan, through Chinatown and the Upper East Side, towards the Village, into Tribe ...

The Kon Ichikawa Story (2006)

The life of iconic Japanese director Kon Ichikawa. ...

Rainbow Song (2006)

Tomoya Kishida is working as a staffer in a television studio when he hears about the death of his close friend, Aoi Sato. This sparks his recollection of the events in life they shared from meeting at a record store, shooting a short film as part of their ...

Hana & Alice (2004)

Two teenage best pals attracted to the same boy end up scrambling his life after he walks into a door and is knocked unconscious. ...

The Railway and the Girl (2003)

The short film shot within the movie "Ritual" (2000) ...

Jam Films (2002)

Jam Films is a 2002 suite of 7 shorts produced by Sega/Amuse. ...

Triumphal March and 30 Days of Their Own (2002)

Documentary following the Japanese national football team preparing for the 2002 World Cup ...

All About "All About Lily Chou-Chou" (2002)

The making of 'All About Lily Chou-Chou' starting from its conception as an interactive story that played out on a BBS ...

Arita (2002)

ARITA is a short film told in pictures and in small moments. It is about a girl whose first friend is a small drawing named Arita, a cute nosed endearment she found everywhere. From her notebooks to her illustrations and school supplies, Arita appeared sil ...

Gift of the Magi (2001)

Christmas-themed omnibus TV movie: Hotdog Express; Documentarytic; 祭典の日 ...

All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001)

Charts the troubled teenage years of students Yūichi Hasumi and Shūsuke Hoshino, exploring the shifting and complex power dynamics of their relationship against the backdrop of Yūichi's love for the dreamy and abstract music of pop star Lily Chou-Chou. ...

The Boys Wanted to See Fireworks from the Side (1999)

A documentary looking back on the making of Shunji Iwai's TV play Fireworks, Should We See it from the Side or the Bottom?. ...

GAMERA 1999 (1999)

Hideaki Anno's documentary about the making of Shusuke Kaneko's Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris. From concept to film, the documentary is a video diary of the film's production. ...

April Story (1998)

In spring, a girl leaves the island of Hokkaido to attend university in Tokyo. Once there, she is asked to reveal why she wanted to go there in the first place. ...

Knit Cap Man (1997)

Shunji Iwai directed video for The Moonriders 1996 song "Knit Cap Man". ...

Swallowtail Butterfly (1996)

The struggles of a group of outcasts living in "Yentown", in an alternate-future Japan. ...

ACRI: The Legend of Homo-Aquarellius (1996)

A scientist desperately wanting to prove that mermaids exist is ostracized from the scientific community in Japan. He settles down in Australia steadfast on his hypothesis. When a Japanese student visits him in Australia with strange questions about mermai ...

Picnic (1996)

Believing that the world will end that very day, three mental patients Coco, Tsumuji, and Satoru set out upon a journey. Walking upon the tops of the walls of the city, they seek to find a picnic spot with the best vantage point to view the final event. ...

Love Letter (1995)

Hiroko attends the memorial service of her fiancé, Itsuki Fujii, who died in a mountain-climbing incident. Although Itsuki's mother says that their old house is gone, Hiroko records the address listed under his name in his yearbook and sends him a letter. ...

Undo (1994)

Moemi is not overly pleased when Yukio brings home a couple of turtles to keep her company. Although Yukio works at home as a writer, Moemi feels neglected and desired a dog or a cat, but neither is allowed in their apartment. ...

Lunatic Love (1994)

A man tries to figure out who his ex-girlfriend is dating. ...

Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom? (1993)

One summer day, a group of sixth-grade boys have an argument about whether fireworks are round or flat when viewed from different angles and embark on a journey for the answer during the annual firework festival. Meanwhile, one of their classmates, Nazuna, ...

Fried Dragon Fish (1993)

A dragon fish is stolen by Tetsu Tobiyama and biologist Thomas Earwing seeks its return. Poo is led to Natsuro after she worms her way into a top secret file at Delta headquarters for information. ...

The Snow King (1993)

A woman battles her spending habits. ...

Ghost Soup (1992)

It's Christmas Eve in Tokyo as Ichiro is moving into his new apartment one month ahead of schedule. As he is getting settled in, two strangers enter the apartment and are surprised to find him there. They begin complaining that he is upsetting their plans ...

Omelette (1992)

A story about a divorce. ...

A Summer Solstice Story (1992)

A woman sits around at home. ...

Blood-sucking Tree (1992)

Three stories: 1 - A tree that prefers blood. 2 - A woman stressed with uncontrolled time. ...

Maria (1992)

A film about a pregnancy ...

The Man Who Came To Kill (1991)

A professional hitman comes to kill a man as his final job. He manages to shoot him to death, but when he is leaving the house, the man he killed shows up again. ...

Unknown Child (1991)

Businessman Yohei Kogure is being treated for a psychosomatic disorder. He's forgetful and regularly dreams about a girl who he believes to be his daughter. ...

From the End of the World (2023)

Hana is a normal high school student, unsatisfied in her daily life. One day she had a dream and met a 10-year-old girl living in Sengoku Era. The girl lives hard with poverty and misfortune in that world and the two are going to have a sisterhood friendsh ...

Ribbon (2022)

The year is 2020, the middle of the corona crisis. Art student Itsuka has her graduation exhibition canceled and must take home the piece which she had been working on for a year. In a whirlpool of emotions she clashes with her worried parents, her little ...

ZARD yo Eien nare Sakai Izumi no Uta wa Kou Umareta (2019)

Anno-san and Our Reckless Challenge: Japan Animator Expo (2015)

A documentary about Hideaki Anno's project, Japan Animator Expo. ...

Filming H&A (2005)

Behind the scenes documentary about the filming of "Hana & Alice", which began as a series of shorts promoting Kit Kat ...

The Railway and the Girl (2003)

The short film shot within the movie "Ritual" (2000) ...

Once upon a time returning to my hometown (2003)

Extra, behind scenes from Hideaki Anno's film Ritual (also known as Shiki-Jitsu). ...

All About "All About Lily Chou-Chou" (2002)

The making of 'All About Lily Chou-Chou' starting from its conception as an interactive story that played out on a BBS ...

Ritual (2000)

A disillusioned filmmaker has an encounter with a young woman who has a ritual of repeating "Tomorrow is my birthday" everyday. He tries to communicate with her through his video camera. ...

円都 YEN TOWN (1996)

Making-of documentary for Swallowtail Butterfly ...

M.B. MOVIE (1987)

At the beginning of the film, the filmmaker begins to talk to the camera. I don't know what kind of film I'm going to make, but I'm going to make it. The camera is set up in a room. He moves into a bigger room and tries to capture more of his everyday life ...