In a small Japanese town, Tsubasa is drawn to Gyotaro, a strange, magnetic boy who claims he is an alien. Their friendship and its heartbreaking end echo across decades in a visually extraordinary animation about childhood, memory and how differently we can experience the same life-changing moments.
We Are Aliens
We Are Aliens
Director
Kohei Kadowaki
Runtime
117 Minutes
Country
Japan
Classification
Unclassified 15+
Childhood can be a world unto itself, where loyalties feel absolute, small cruelties are devastating and another person can remain unknowable even when you believe you know them best. In a small Japanese town, Tsubasa is drawn to the strange, magnetic Gyotaro, who claims he is an alien. Their intense friendship and its heartbreaking end continue to shape both boys into adulthood. Moving across decades and between perspectives, We Are Aliens gradually transforms our understanding of the memories they share and the lives that followed. Kohei Kadowaki’s delicate animation renders everyday life with almost hyperreal clarity, heightening fleeting gestures, facial expressions and childhood landscapes into images of extraordinary emotional intensity. Drawing beauty and heartbreak from the smallest moments, this formally ambitious animation explores memory, guilt and the enduring mystery of other people.
“Frequently stunning … a haunting portrait of isolation.”
TheWrap
“Visually engrossing … sophisticated and intelligent.”
Screen International
Cannes
Annecy
Melbourne
Film Credits
Director
Kohei Kadowaki
Year
2026
Country
Japan
Language
Japanese
Subtitles
English
Type
Feature Animation
Program Strand
Animation
Producer
Emmanuel-Alain Raynal
Writer
Kohei Kadowaki
Editor
Kenichiro Tachikawa & Kohei Kadowaki
Cast
Amane Okayama & Ryota Bando
Music
Yaffle
Film Source
Palace Films
Genre
Animation & Coming of Age
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