Kōhei Kadowaki’s directorial feature We Are Aliens (Ware Ware wa Uchūjin) continues its impressive run on the global film festival circuit. The auteur project, produced by NOTHING NEW in partnership with French animation studio Miyu Productions, secured Special Mentions in the Alice nelle città sidebar at the 21st Rome Film Festival, alongside an Honorable Mention at the 35th Philadelphia Film Festival. To mark the occasion, the official website released a fresh promotional video highlighting the feature's emotional visual storytelling.
Festival Acclaim and Narrative Arc
The film explores the fragile relationship between two childhood friends, Tsubasa and Gyōtarō. Bound together during their elementary school years, mutual jealousy and unresolved misunderstandings caused their paths to diverge as adults. When forgotten memories reemerge years later, both men are forced to confront the emotional friction of their shared past.
The prestigious accolades in Rome and Philadelphia follow major wins earlier this autumn, including the Grand Prize for Animated Feature at the Ottawa International Animation Festival and the Anima't Award at the Sitges Film Festival. The feature previously held screenings at Cannes Directors' Fortnight, Annecy, Melbourne, and the Busan International Film Festival.
Creative Vision & Voice Cast
Kadowaki, known for directing the second ending sequence of BEASTARS and high-profile music videos for YOASOBI, personally helmed We Are Aliens as planner, writer, director, storyboard artist, and editor. Acclaimed composer Yaffle provided the score, with artist adieu performing the theme song "Sasakure."
The principal voice cast features:
- Ryōta Bandō as adult Tsubasa
- Amane Okayama as adult Gyōtarō
- Yūto Maki as young Tsubasa
- Tasuku Nakagome as young Gyōtarō
- Ten Yamasaki (Sakurazaka46) as Konatsu
