# Shunji Iwai

Shunji Iwai (Japanese: 岩井 俊二, Hepburn: Iwai Shunji, born 24 January 1963) is a Japanese filmmaker, video artist, writer and documentary maker.

## Life and career

Iwai was born in Sendai, Miyagi, 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, 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, in which he cast pop singer Miho Nakayama 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 released Love Letter 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 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 (as well as Debussy), and later be released as an album entitled Kokyu (Breathe).
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.
He has recently directed a commercial airing in Japan featuring Matsu Takako, whom he has not worked with since 1998.
October 2006 sees the Iwai-produced film Rainbow Song released in Japan. The film is directed by Naoto Kumazawa and was written by Ami Sakurai. It stars previous Iwai actors Hayato Ichihara, Yū Aoi and Shoko Aida. Also in 2006, Iwai spent time documenting and interviewing Kon Ichikawa 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 singer Jin Akanishi 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 marked his English-language film debut.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Editor | Composer | Notes |
| 1995 | Love Letter | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | |
| 1996 | Picnic | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 1996 | Arcri | No | Story | No | No | No | |
| 1996 | Swallowtail Butterfly | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | |
| 1998 | April Story | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | |
| 2001 | All About Lily Chou-Chou | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | |
| 2004 | Hana & Alice | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Based on his short-film series of the same title |
| 2006 | Rainbow Song | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| 2009 | Halfway | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Also executive producer |
| 2009 | Baton | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| 2010 | Bandage | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| 2011 | Vampire | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also cinematographer |
| 2012 | I Have to Buy New Shoes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Also director of photography and executive producer |
| 2013 | Far Away, So Close | No | No | No | No | Yes | |
| 2015 | The Case of Hana & Alice | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Animated prequel of Hana and Alice |
| 2016 | A Bride for Rip Van Winkle | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Also based on his novel |
| 2018 | Last Letter | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Chinese adaptation of his novel Also executive producer |
| 2020 | Last Letter | Yes | Yes | Co-producer | Yes | No | Japanese adaptation of his novel |
| 2020 | The 12 Day Tale of the Monster that Died in 8 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Also cinematographer, monster design and musical producer |
| 2023 | Kyrie | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Also based on his novel |

#### Acting roles

* M.B. Movie (1987)
* Shiki-Jitsu (2000), main role as "The Director"
* Ribbon (2021)
* From the End of the World (2023)

#### Executive producer

* Cities in Love (2015)

### Short film

| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Editor | Composer | Notes |
| 1994 | Undo | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| 1996 | Knit Cap Man | Yes | Yes | No | No | Short music videoclip to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the band Moonriders |
| 1998 | Ikieta Nobunanga | Yes | Yes | No | No | Short film within his film April Story |
| 2002 | ARITA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Segment of Jam Films |
| 2008 | Segement 3 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Segment of the anthology film New York, I Love You |

#### Early independent films

| Year | Title |
| 1982 | Kajitshuo |
| 1982 | Yubari Sonata |
| 1982 | Requiem |
| 1982 | White Country, Summer Country |
| 1984 | Lemu (Rainy Day Labrinth) |
| 1986 | Mina's Legend |
| 1986 | Hana |
| 1987 | Buro Popins Pocky Poppins |
| 1987 | Indy Poppins Candy Poppins |

### Documentaries

| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Editor | Notes |
| 1999 | Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom? | Yes | Yes | No | Making-of documentary of his short film Fireworks (1993) |
| 2002 | Triumphal March and 30 Days of Their Own | Yes | No | Yes | Documentary about the Japan national football team for Japan Football Association Also producer |
| 2002 | All About "All About Lily Chou-Chou" | Yes | No | No | Making-of documentary of his film All About Lily Chou-Chou |
| 2006 | The Kon Ichikawa Story | Yes | Yes | Yes | Documentary about Kon Ichikawa on the making of his last film The Inugamis Also composer |

#### Making-of appearances

* YEN TOWN (1996)
* Once Upon a Time Returning to my Hometown (2000)
* All About "All About Lily Chou-Chou" (2001)
* Filming Hana & Alice (2004)
* Anno-San and Our Reckless Challenge: Japan Animator Expo (2015)

### Television

| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Editor | Notes |
| 1988 | Miko Morikahua: The Document | Yes | No | No | TV Documentary Special |
| 1989 | Idol Aquarium | Yes | No | No | TV Special |
| 1990 | What is Bunchin Story? | Yes | No | No | TV Documentary Special |
| 1990 | Seikimatsu Utahime Aquarium | Yes | No | No | TV Special |
| 1991 | Unknown Child | Yes | Yes | No | TV horror drama for Kansai TV's DRAMA DOS; available on Initial: the Shunji Iwai Collection DVD |
| 1991 | The Man Who Came to Kill | Yes | Yes | No | available on Initial: the Shunji Iwai Collection DVD |
| 1992 | Ghost Soup | Yes | Yes | Yes | available on Initial: the Shunji Iwai Collection DVD |
| 1992 | Maria | Yes | Yes | No | TV drama; available on Initial: the Shunji Iwai Collection DVD |
| 1992 | A Tin of Crab Meat | Yes | Yes | No | Fuji TV's third series of Tales of the Unusual; available on Initial: the Shunji Iwai Collection DVD |
| 1992 | A Summer Solstice Story | Yes | Yes | Yes | available on Initial: the Shunji Iwai Collection DVD |
| 1992 | Omelette | Yes | Yes | No | TV special for Fuji TV's La Cuisine; available on Initial: the Shunji Iwai Collection DVD |
| 1993 | Jocx Midnight Music Aesthetics | Yes | No | No | TV Special |
| 1993 | Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom? | Yes | Yes | No | Television play |
| 1993 | Fried Dragon Fish | Yes | Yes | No | Final TV special for Fuji TV's La Cuisine; available on Initial: the Shunji Iwai Collection DVD |
| 1993 | The King of Snow | Yes | Yes | No | TV drama; available on Initial: the Shunji Iwai Collection DVD |
| 1994 | Lunatic Love | Yes | Yes | No | TV drama; available on Initial: the Shunji Iwai Collection DVD |
| 2011 | Friends After 3.11 | Yes | No | Yes | Documentary that explores the aftermath of Japan's 2011 earthquake and tsunami Also producer and received a theatrical release in 2012 |
| 2014 | Mysterious Transfer Student | No | Yes | Yes | Miniseries |
| 2017 | A Bride for Rip Van Winkle: The Serial Edition | Yes | Yes | Yes | Extended version of his film "A Bride for Rip Van Winkle" adapted into a miniseries Also based on his novel |

#### TV appearances

* 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 <Movie Music Edition> (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

| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Editor | Notes |
| 2003 | Hana and Alice | Yes | Yes | Yes | Short webseries later adapted into a feature length-film of the same name Also producer and composer |
| 2014 | Town Workers | Yes | Yes | No | Short animated webseries |
| 2017 | Chang-Ok's Letters | Yes | Yes | Yes | Short miniseries commissioned by Nestlé Also composer |
| 2017 | Halfway Road | No | Yes | No | Also composer |
| 2018 | Wish Upon a Star | No | No | Yes | Short webseries Edited Episode 3: "1 Hour for a Shooting Star" |
| 2019 | Little Letter | Yes | Yes | Yes | Short film commissioned by Nestlé |
| 2020 | The 12 Day Tale of the Monster that Died in 8 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Short webseries later adapted into a feature length-film of the same name Also cinematographer |
| 2020 | Even If I Could Find You In My Dreams | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also cinematographer |
| 2023 | Lemon Dream | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also cinematographer |

#### 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

| Year | Title | Artist | Notes |
| 1988 | Someday Somewhere | Keisuke Kutakawa | |
| 1988 | Girl | Yuko Hara | |
| 1988 | How are you? | Miko Morikawa | |
| 1989 | April White Paper | Sumika Yamakana | |
| 1989 | Why | Sumika Yamanaka | |
| 1989 | J's Bar | Hiroyuki Kurata | |
| 1989 | I'm Only Dreaming | Miwa Kawagoe | |
| 1989 | Broken Heart | Chami Satonaka | |
| 1989 | Shine the Most | Miki Fujitani | |
| 1990 | On a Sunny Slope | Tokyo Boys | |
| 1990 | Key to the Heart | Miwa Kawagoe | |
| 1990 | Umi | Miyoko Yoshimoto | |
| 1990 | NEXT | Rizzo Tachibana | |
| 1990 | Put me on Your Song | Tokyo Boys | |
| 1990 | Midusummer Shadow | Yuki Hoshino | |
| 1990 | 1960's Gun | Wells | |
| 1990 | Good-Bye | Rie Sugimoto | |
| 1990 | Welcome Home Again | The Shamrock | |
| 1990 | Present | Tokyo Boys | |
| 1990 | LaPaPa | The Shamrock | |
| 1990 | Shy Shy Japanese | Tokyo Boys | |
| 1991 | Good-Bye My Loneliness | Zard | |
| 1991 | Harmony | Tokyo Boys | |
| 1991 | Five | The Shamrock | |
| 1991 | Blue Light Yokosuka | Mi-ke | |
| 1991 | I want to Change the Times | Rikuo | |
| 1991 | Fushigi ne... | Zard | |
| 1991 | Silent Mobius~Sailing | Tokyo Boys | |
| 1991 | Fairy Sketch | Rie Sugimoto | |
| 1991 | Whistling Way Home | PAN PAN HOUSE | |
| 1991 | Love only for You | FLYING KIDS | |
| 1991 | Mō Sagasanai | Zard | |
| 1991 | I Want to Give to You a Merry X'Mas | Masami Inoue | |
| 1991 | BLANCIN' LOVE | Masaki Inoue | |
| 1991 | Merry Christmas to You | Maeda Wataru | |
| 1991 | White 2 White-Reef | Mi-Ke | |
| 1992 | Yumemiru JACK & BETTY | The 5 Teardrops | |
| 1992 | Goodbye, I Love You | The 5 Teardrops | |
| 1992 | I am your Santa Claus | The 5 Teardrops | |
| 1992 | Room Y-Shirt and Me | Ari Hiramatsu | |
| 1992 | Don't Stop Spring | Nagasawa Gijuku | |
| 1992 | Sad Teddy Boy | Mi-Ke | |
| 1992 | Let's Sing a Song | Important MAN Brothers Band | |
| 1992 | Surffing Japan | Mi-Ke | |
| 1992 | SHULABA LA BAMBA | Southern All Stars | |
| 1992 | Let's Dance Until Morning | Mi-Ke | |
| 1992 | Magic Railway | Reimi | |
| 1992 | OCEAN | Reimi | |
| 1992 | Last Fragance | Reimi | |
| 1992 | I Have No Choice to Laugh | Airi Hiramatsu | |
| 1992 | Let's Laugh | BOO WHO WOO | |
| 1992 | Monkey's Tail | Nagasawa Gijuku | |
| 1992 | Wonder Girl | Reimi | |
| 1992 | Like Blue Moon | Mi-Ke | |
| 1992 | Yokahama Boy Style | Coco | |
| 1992 | Daiseki, I Love You | BOO WHO WOO | |
| 1993 | The Reason Why Love is Wonderful | Masami Inoue | |
| 1993 | I Want to Live Forever with You | TO BE CONTINUED | |
| 1993 | Single is Best? | Ari Hiramatsu | |
| 1993 | Good Luck Angel | UP-BEAT | |
| 1993 | Variation | Ari Hiramatsu | |
| 1993 | Just Look At | Ozo Jinnouichi | |
| 1993 | Nice Birdy (NO BIRDY) | Southern All Stars | |
| 1993 | Erotica Seven | Southern All Stars | |
| 1995 | Cheers for You | Nakayama Miho | |
| 1996 | Swallowtail Butterfly (Ai no Uta) | Yen Town Band | Single by the band formed by Iwai's film Swallowtail Butterfly |
| 1996 | Knit Cap Man | Moonriders | Special music video in celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the band |
| 1997 | Mirror of the Sky | Takako Matsu | |
| 1998 | Stay with Me | Takako Matsu | |
| 2000 | Gilde | Lily Chou-Chou | Songs by the band formed by Iwai's film All About Lily Chou-Chou |
| 2001 | Resonance (Empty Stone) | Lily Chou-Chou | Songs by the band formed by Iwai's film All About Lily Chou-Chou |
| 2001 | Wings that Can't Fly | Lily Chou-Chou | Songs by the band formed by Iwai's film All About Lily Chou-Chou |
| 2007 | Kumuriota | Ai Otsuka | |
| 2010 | Sakura no Shiori | AKB48 | |
| 2010 | Fluffy | Yui Makino | |
| 2012 | Unrequited Love | miwa | |
| 2012 | Flowers Will Bloom | Flowers Bloom Project | |
| 2012 | Why Not? | Ari Hiramatsu | |
| 2013 | Crusising of the Sea of TV | Hana Kuorki & Yuiko Kariya | |
| 2013 | Circle of the Thanks | Ayaka | |
| 2013 | HOME | Furukawa Honpo | |
| 2014 | The Wind's Blowing | Hec & Pascal | |
| 2015 | Fish in the Pool | Hec & Pascal | |
| 2015 | Ainone | Yen Town Band | Animated music video Single by the band formed by Iwai's film Swallowtail Butterfly |
| 2016 | Cosmology | Cocco | |
| 2016 | My Town | Yen Town Band | Single by the band formed by Iwai's film Swallowtail Butterfly |
| 2016 | Bowknot | Aimer | |
| 2016 | Echo, Kotadama | Bank Band | |
| 2016 | Your Favourite Color | Hec & Pascal | |
| 2016 | Miracle | Illon |
| 2017 | Forever Friends | DAOKO | |
| 2017 | Goodbye My Love | ShiorI Niyama | |
| 2018 | urar | Chima | General Director |
| 2018 | Step | Hitsujibungaku | General Director |
| 2018 | Break These Chains | Heku and Pascal | |
| 2018 | Before the Star Falls | JY | |
| 2018 | Appearance | Alive Year | |
| 2019 | Tired of Seeing the Unknown World | ikire | |
| 2020 | Kaeru No Uta | Nanana Mori |
| 2020 | Nice to Meet You | Nanana Mori | |
| 2020 | Kaeru No Uta ("Last Letter" movie version) | Nanana Mori | Music video for the single for Iwai's film Last Letter |
| 2020 | Little Lie | ikire | |
| 2020 | Connect | ikire | |
| 2020 | Beautiful | ikire | |
| 2020 | Letter | ikire | |
| 2020 | Aoi | ikire | |
| 2021 | Flowers Bloom 2021 | Flowers Bloom Project | |
| 2021 | Even If We Can Meet in a Dream Music Issue ~for rooftop~ | Alexandros | |
| 2021 | Take me Fantagen | Kyoko Koizumi | |
| 2021 | Tomorrow's hot water will boil tomorrow | Moeka Hoshi | |
| 2021 | A Monster That Wants To Be Enough | ikire | |
| 2021 | Next Door Monster | ikire | |
| 2021 | A Monster, Not a Dream | ikire | |
| 2021 | Hikari | ikire | |
| 2022 | Another Day Goes By | Lizabet | |

#### Producer

| Year | Title | Artist | Notes |
| 2020 | I Don't Need a Reply | Nanana Mori | Music video directed by Ryo Furukawa |
| 2020 | Beautiful | ikire | Music video directed by Emi Tai |

### Commercials
#### Director

| Year | Title | Company |
| 1994 | Nissan Lichuno | Nissan |
| 1994 | Sasion Group | Sasion Group |
| 1994 | IH Jar Rice Cooker | National |
| 1996 | Live Notebooks | Panasonic |
| 1997 | Thanks Fair Winter | NTT |
| 1997 | Thanks Fair Summer | NTT |
| 1997 | OCN | NTT |
| 1997 | ISDN | NTT |
| 1997 | D-MAIL | NTT |
| 1998 | Legaia Legend | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| 1999 | Like a Long Sigh | The Brilliant Green |
| 2002 | Salon Style | Kosé |
| 2002 | Sokenbicha | Coca-Cola Japan |
| 2002 | It's My Life | LIFE CARD |
| 2003 | PanaHome | PanaHome |
| 2003 | Kit-Kat | Nestlé Japan |
| 2003 | It's My Life | LIFE CARD |
| 2007 | Mitsubishi UFJ Securities | Mitsubishi UFJ Securities |
| 2012 | BS | Japanese Movie Specialty Channel |
| 2013 | Nescafe Excella | Nestlé Japan |
| 2013 | Kit-Kat | Nestlé Japan |
| 2019 | Kit-Kat | Nestlé Japan |

### Live concerts
#### Director

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 2016 | ETON KUNAN in FUJANA | Live Concert movie |
| 2018 | Clamboon x Shunji Iwai "Hiba Open Air Concert Hall Live | Live Concert movie |
| 2020 | CHRONIC: Special Small Concert | Live concert with music of his movie Last Letter aired on YouTube |
| 2021 | Yen Town Special Band Special Live in Kurkku Fields | Live concert in honor of the 25th Anniversary of his movie Swallowtail Butterfly aired on U-NEXT |