We Are Aliens
Singapore Premiere
Kohei Kadowaki Japan, France 2026 117 min PG13 (Some Violence)
Two boys in a small Japanese town become each other’s closest friend and foil. As their lives fork in adulthood, each remembers something the other never saw, carrying scars from their life experiences.
Tsubasa and Gyotaro meet as boys in a small Japanese town and become inseparable as each other’s closest friend and foil, convinced the other understands him in a way no one else does. As they grow older, small misunderstandings pile up unspoken between them, leading to a quiet betrayal that forever ruptures their relationship. By the time their lives fork in adulthood, each man is carrying something the other never fully sees.
Kohei Kadowaki’s directorial debut mixes rotoscoped and hand-drawn animation for a dreamlike, tactile quality that gives shape to the boys’ inner lives. The film traces their parallel, mirrored paths, and the ache of realising—only in hindsight—the depth of a shared connection in spite of how different their lives turn out.
Synopsis Writer: Sim Jiaying
Asian Feature Film Competition, Q&A
28 Oct, Wed 9:00PM / 117 min
Golden Village Cineleisure, Hall 4
Asian Feature Film Competition, Q&A
30 Oct, Fri 4:00PM / 117 min
National Museum Singapore, Gallery Theatre
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We Are Aliens
我々は宇宙
Kohei Kadowaki
Japan, France
2026
Japanese
English
117 min
PG13 (Some Violence)
Singapore Premiere
Kohei Kadowaki
A design graduate of Tokyo University of the Arts, Kohei Kadowaki joined an animation studio before going independent working in stage scenography and commercial videos. His visual style incorporates live-action sequences with 3D CGI. We Are Aliens, his feature debut, premiered at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight and competed at Annecy.
Ryota Bando,
Amane Okayama
Emmanuel-Alain Raynal,
Yuuri Shimojo