We Are Aliens draws from the awkward, unpolished memories of boyhood. In the summer of third grade, Tsubasa and Gyoutarou become friends. Its rotoscope-based realist style recreates the innocence of those remembered days in vivid detail: a lollipop melted onto the asphalt, sunlight filtering beneath an underpass, a dinosaur drawing proudly shown off to friends. Just as the film seems ready to settle into wistful lyricism, its mood takes a dramatic turn as the two boys enter adolescence. At an age when everything about them and around them is changing rapidly, relationships unravel all too easily, and the world itself begins to shift. Even decades later, a handful of memories from those years continue to haunt Gyoutarou and ultimately come to shape his life. The film’s form shifts deftly along with its narrative. Particularly in the latter half, when Gyoutarou’s emotions finally distort the world itself, the sheer dynamism of the images must be experienced firsthand. Screened this year in the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival and in competition at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, We Are Aliens heralds the arrival of an exciting new talent in Kadowaki Kohei.
Film director and animator. After graduating with a degree in Design from Tokyo University of the Arts, Kadowaki worked for an anime studio. He later went freelance, made stage visuals and commercials, and now focus on creating music videos.
From Tokyo International Film Festival 2026, No. 39
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We Are AliensTokyo International Film Festival 2026, No. 39Animation
We Are AliensBusan International Film Festival 2026, No. 31Special Program in Focus: Japanese Animation Special: Masterpieces of Madness, Exhilarating Prospects 12+1
