is a Japanese filmmaker, video artist, writer and documentary maker.
Life and career
Iwai was born in
Sendai, Miyagi
is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the twelfth most populated city in Japan.
The modern city was founded in 1600 by th ...
, Japan. He attended Yokohama National University, graduating in 1987.
In 1988, he started out in the Japanese entertainment industry by directing TV dramas and music videos. In 1993, his television drama, ''
Fireworks
Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...
'', brought him critical praise and the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award for his portrayal of a group of children in the town of Iioka.
In 1995, he went on to start his career in feature films, starting with the box-office hit ''
Love Letter
A love letter is an expression of love in written form. However delivered, the letter may be anything from a short and simple message of love to a lengthy explanation and description of feelings.
History
One of the oldest references to a l ...
'', in which he cast pop singer
Miho Nakayama
was a Japanese singer and actress. She made her debut in the 1985 drama ''Maido Osawagase Shimasu'', where her performance led to instant stardom. Nakayama released her debut single, " C", shortly after, and finished the year with her film deb ...
in dual roles. ''Love Letter'' also launched the film career of Miki Sakai who won a Japanese Academy Award as 'Newcomer of the Year' for her portrayal of Itsuki Fujii as a young girl. Iwai collaborated with cinematographer Noboru Shinoda to produce a film praised for its evocative winter cinematography. ''Love Letter'' made an impact in other east Asian countries too, notably South Korea where the film's success helped break down the post-World War II barriers to Japanese films being shown there.
In 1996, came the commercial and critical success of '' Swallowtail Butterfly'', a multifaceted story of the fictional Yen Town, a city of immigrants in search of hope and a better life with three separate and distinct main characters. Ageha ( Ayumi Ito), an orphaned teenage girl, Glico ( Chara), a prostitute turned pop star, and Feihong ( Hiroshi Mikami), an immigrant who manages Glico's career and owns the Yen Town club. He also wrote the lyrics of a theme song for the film '' Swallowtail Butterfly (Ai no Uta)'' with Chara and Takeshi Kobayashi.
In 1998,
Fine Line Features
Fine Line Features was the specialty films division of New Line Cinema. From 1991 to 2005, under founder and president Ira Deutchman, Fine Line acquired, distributed and marketed independent films. In 2005, New Line teamed up with fellow Time W ...
released ''
Love Letter
A love letter is an expression of love in written form. However delivered, the letter may be anything from a short and simple message of love to a lengthy explanation and description of feelings.
History
One of the oldest references to a l ...
'' in the United States theatrically under the new title '' When I Close My Eyes''; it was the first Iwai-directed film to be released in the United States theatrically.
Iwai enjoyed another kind of success with this film as well, having teamed up with
Takeshi Kobayashi
, is a Japanese keyboardist, lyricist, composer, arranger, and record producer.
History
Kobayashi started his professional career in the late 1970s. After working in the backing bands for singers such as Yosui Inoue, Misato Watanabe, and Anri, ...
to create the music for the film and the Yen Town Band, headed by Pop star Chara. The band they created became a commercial hit in Japan. He would team up with Kobayashi again in 2001 for the harrowing high school drama '' All About Lily Chou-Chou''. Kobayashi would create the music for the titular pop star, Lily Chou-Chou (voiced by Japanese singer Salyu), that is spread through the film, and later be released as an album entitled '' Kokyu (Breathe)''. Kobayashi also composed much of the soundtrack, incorporating the music of
Claude Debussy
Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...
, in particular Clair de lune.
In 2002, he released a short, ''ARITA'', in which he composed his own film score for the first time. In 2004 Iwai released '' Hana & Alice'', his first comedy. He once again composed the film score himself.
In 2006, he directed a commercial airing in Japan featuring Matsu Takako, whom he has not worked with since 1998.
October 2006 saw the Iwai-produced film ''
Rainbow Song
is a 2006 Japanese film by director Naoto Kumazawa and produced by Shunji Iwai (who also co-wrote the screenplay under pseudonym Aminosan). Kumazawa had worked with Iwai before, having directed the making-of documentary for ''Swallowtail (fil ...
'' released in Japan. The film was directed by Naoto Kumazawa and was written by Ami Sakurai. It stars previous Iwai actors Hayato Ichihara, Yū Aoi and
Shoko Aida
is a Japanese singer and actress. She was a member of the J-pop duo Wink (duo), Wink, after which she became a solo artist.
Career
She debuted as a member of the J-pop duo Wink (duo), Wink.
She began working as a solo artist on 1 April 199 ...
. Also in 2006, Iwai spent time documenting and interviewing
Kon Ichikawa
was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His work displays a vast range in genre and style, from the anti-war films '' The Burmese Harp'' (1956) and '' Fires on the Plain'' (1959), to the documentary '' Tokyo Olympiad'' (1965), which won t ...
while filming '' The Inugamis'' (''Inugamike no ichizoku'') to create a feature-length documentary about the director's life.
A more recent project, a piece he wrote about the Japanese indie rock scene in the early 1990s called ''Bandage'', was released on January 16, 2010. Apart from being in charge of the music production, ''Bandage'' represents Takeshi Kobayashi's first time as a movie director. The project was originally taken by Ryuhei Kitamura, but was dropped in 2006. The filming started in 2008 and Kobayashi chose a completely different cast for the movie, casting
J-pop
J-pop (often stylized in all caps; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in trad ...
singer
Jin Akanishi
is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter and actor. He has been active since 1998 as one of the two lead vocalists of the J-pop boy-band KAT-TUN before starting a solo career in 2009. Akanishi has also acted in several films and dramas.
Bi ...
and Kie Kitano for the main roles. It also included other actors who have worked with Iwai before, such as Ayumi Ito and Hideyuki Kasahara. The release of the horror film ''
Vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...
*'' Friends After 3.11'' (2011)
*''The movie continues to sound the alarm to the world'' (2012)
*''Shunji Iwai Film Festival Presents My Little Film Festival'' (2012)
*''Scola Ryuichi Sakamoto School of Music '' (2013)
*''Shunji Iwai MOVIE LAB'' (2015–2016)
*''3.26 "Rip Van Winkle's Bride" Commemorative 24-hour Whole Shunji Iwai'' (2016)
*''YEN TOWN BAND ・ Lily Chou-Chou Project ~Yento Space in Inujima~'' (2016)
*''Nobuhiko Obayashi Film Festival! ～Flower basket flower language What I want to pass on now. Nobuhiko Obayashi x Shunji Iwai x Takako Tokiwa Special Trial Talk'' (2017)
*''Under this sky that two people can see Makoto Shinkai x Shunji Iwai'' (2020)
*''Let's change the future with movies ~ A message from Nobuhiko Obayashi to four directors'' (2020)
*''Close-up Gendai + Asked about "the power to change the future"-A testament from Nobuhiko Obayashi'' (2020)
Online short films
Producer only
*''Koibana-Watermelon and adhesive plaster'' (2009)
*''HaraI Monogatari: "One Night in Chengdu"'' (2013)
*''HaraI Monogatari: "Grandpa's Secret"'' (2013)
*''HaraI Monogatari: "Sayonara Hot Pot"'' (2013)
Music videos
Director
Producer
Commercials
Director
Live concerts
Director
Bibliography
Novels
* ''
Love Letter
A love letter is an expression of love in written form. However delivered, the letter may be anything from a short and simple message of love to a lengthy explanation and description of feelings.
History
One of the oldest references to a l ...
Vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...
*''The Murder Case of Hana & Alice'' [Manga: Seimei Doman] (2015)
*''Fireworks, Should We See It form the Side or the Bottom? VOL.1/VOL.2'' [Manga: Makoto Fugetsu] (2017)
Essays/Interviews books
*''Trash Basket Theatre'' (1997)
*''Magic Launcher'' (1998)
*''NOW and THEN: Shunji Iwai'' (1998)
*''Film Makers'' (2001)
*''Don't Spell Words Lighter than the Silence'' (2012)
*''Shunji Iwai: From "Love Letter" to "Last Letter" to "Chifa's Letter"'' (2020)
*''Kei Meno's Art Book Just as it was Before He Wrote Words'' (2021)
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
, Forum of new cinema, Netpac Award.
''Picnic''
* 1996 -
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
, Forum of new cinema Prize of the Readers of the Berliner Zeitung.
''
Love Letter
A love letter is an expression of love in written form. However delivered, the letter may be anything from a short and simple message of love to a lengthy explanation and description of feelings.
History
One of the oldest references to a l ...
Yokohama Film Festival
The is an annual awards ceremony held in Yokohama, Japan. Ten films are chosen as the best of the year and various awards are given to personnel. The first festival, held on February 3, 1980, was a small affair by fans and film critics. In 1994, ...
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
Cinema of Japan
The , also known domestically as , has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world; as of 2022, it was the Film industry#Statistics, fourth largest by number of feature films p ...