Known for Directing
Shunji Iwai (岩井 俊二, Iwai Shunji, born 24 January 1963) is a Japanese film director, video artist, writer and documentary maker.
Born
January 24, 1963 (age 63)
Birthplace
Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Filmography
155 films, 38 shows
World Map
2025 · 41m
country: China
One day, Lan Xia goes to her classmate Hai Feng’s house to stay overnight. They start to feel awkward around each other without really knowing why, but slowly get closer through insignificant words exchanged while doing a jigsaw puzzle of the world map. The next morning, Hai Feng realizes that Lan Xia has left without saying anything and sets out to follow her. A memory of a summer in which the world belonged to the two of them alone, if only for a moment
Kyrie
2023 · 2h 58m
country: Japan
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 · 34m
country: Japan
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 return home.
The 12 Day Tale of the Monster that Died in 8
2020 · 1h 28m
country: Japan
An actor who has lost his job due to the coronavirus buys capsule monsters online and begins to raise them.
Last Letter
2020 · 2h
country: Japan
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 symbolically accept the demise of her mother. In the midst of all this an old flame messages the sister to say he is still in love with her, but is he messaging the living sister or the dead one?
Little Letter
2020 · 7m
country: Japan
A girl gets a message from her mother during an stressful exam period.
Last Letter
2018 · 1h 53m
country: China
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 are evoked, and correspondences travel through different contexts and times, Zhihua slowly uncovers the intricate story of the trio.
Chang-ok's Letter
2017 · 1h 6m
country: South Korea
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 · 2h 5m
country: Japan
Swallowtail Butterfly 20th Anniversary concert at Inujima Seirensho Museum as part of Setouchi Triennale 2016
Miracle
2016 · 4m
country: Japan
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 · 2h 59m
country: Japan
A woman hires actors and strangers to pretend to be her friends and family at her wedding.
Ainone
2015 · 2m
country: Japan
A short film consisting of rotoscoped clips from 'Swallotwail Butterfly,' set to the music of the film's Yentown band.
The Case of Hana & Alice
2015 · 1h 38m
country: Japan
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 undesired meddling in her affairs and warding off her classmates' bullying, the troubled Alice starts to investigate the mystery surrounding Judas' disappearance. The trail of clues leads her to the house of her next-door neighbor, the quirky and reclusive Hana Arai.
Town Workers
2014 · 18m
country: Japan
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.
Vampire
2011 · 2h
country: Japan
An outwardly normal schoolteacher preys on suicidal women to slake his overwhelming thirst for human blood.
Friends After 3.11
2011 · 2h 12m
country: Japan
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 3.11 (2011) is a deeply personal documentary which uses the statements of some of his closest friends to express the views of a society in a state of political despondency.
New York, I Love You
2008 · 1h 43m
country: United States
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 Tribeca, and Brooklyn as lovers of all ages try to find romance in the Big Apple.
The Kon Ichikawa Story
2006 · 1h 23m
country: Japan
The life of iconic Japanese director Kon Ichikawa.
Hana & Alice
2004 · 2h 15m
country: Japan
Two teenage best pals attracted to the same boy end up scrambling his life after he walks into a door and is knocked unconscious.
Jam Films
2002 · 1h 49m
country: Japan
Jam Films is a 2002 suite of 7 shorts produced by Sega/Amuse.
Triumphal March and 30 Days of Their Own
Triumphal March and 30 Days of Their Own
2002 · 3h 40m
country: Japan
Documentary following the Japanese national football team preparing for the 2002 World Cup
All About "All About Lily Chou-Chou"
2002 · 1h 27m
country: Japan
The making of 'All About Lily Chou-Chou' starting from its conception as an interactive story that played out on a BBS
Arita
2002 · 15m
country: Japan
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 silently and still. Growing up with such a friend would raise questions and as she became older, she attempted to answer them. Iwai, one of Japan’s most exciting directors, tells a beautiful and dream-like story through the precious eyes of Ryoko Hirosue. The heavenly tint of the picture and the serene piano playing makes ARITA easily an audience favorite.
All About Lily Chou-Chou
2001 · 2h 26m
country: Japan
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 · 1h 30m
country: Japan
A documentary looking back on the making of Shunji Iwai's TV play Fireworks, Should We See it from the Side or the Bottom?.
April Story
1998 · 1h 7m
country: Japan
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 · 16m
country: Japan
Shunji Iwai directed video for The Moonriders 1996 song “Knit Cap Man”.
Swallowtail Butterfly
1996 · 2h 28m
country: Japan
The struggles of a group of outcasts living in "Yentown", in an alternate-future Japan.
Picnic
1996 · 1h 12m
country: Japan
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 · 1h 57m
country: Japan
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. Surprisingly, she receives a reply, and discovers it came from his old classmate, a girl who also happens to be called Itsuki Fujii.
Undo
1994 · 47m
country: Japan
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 · 16m
country: Japan
A man tries to figure out who his ex-girlfriend is dating.
Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?
1993 · 50m
country: Japan
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, is troubled by her parents' separation and decides to choose one of the boys to run away with.
Fried Dragon Fish
1993 · 50m
country: Japan
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 · 24m
country: Japan
A woman battles her spending habits.
Ghost Soup
1992 · 58m
country: Japan
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 for a Christmas party to be thrown in the apartment that night before attempting to kick him out.
Omelette
1992 · 21m
country: Japan
A story about a divorce.
A Summer Solstice Story
1992 · 24m
country: Japan
A woman sits around at home.
Blood-sucking Tree
1992 · 1h 9m
country: Unknown
Three stories: 1 - A tree that prefers blood. 2 - A woman stressed with uncontrolled time. 2 - A man who believes his daughter is a demon
A Canned Crab
1992 · 16m
country: Japan
A comical episode from Fuji TV's Yonimo Kimyouna Monogatari. Suekichi runs a small liquor store. He finds that someone has stolen canned crab from his store. But he reports that a large amount of money was stolen also. He is forced to make up stories one after another...
Maria
1992 · 24m
country: Japan
A film about a pregnancy
The Man Who Came To Kill
1991 · 24m
country: Japan
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 · 24m
country: Japan
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.