- Born
- Having received his education at Yokohama National University, Shunji Iwai started out in the entertainment industry by directing music videos and television dramas, including the likes of Maria, Lunatic Love and Fireworks, for which he received the award for Best Newcomer from the Japanese Director's Association. He eventually moved onto larger things with his short film Undo (1994), later followed by the hit Swallowtail Butterfly (1996) starring Japanese pop singer, Chara.
As his career progressed, he received even more awards, especially for his films Love Letter (1995) and All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001) (All About Lily Chou-Chou). Shunji Iwai resides in Japan.- IMDb Mini Biography By: John Rogos - One of the most popular and influential Japanese directors of his generation, the multi-talented Shunji Iwai is commonly recognized for his distinctive and innovative visual style. Although describing himself as an "eizo sakka" (visual artist), characters and plot themes are often excellently developed in his films, all of which he has personally scripted. Iwai has also edited several of his films, and has even scored the music for more recent efforts. Often using women protagonists, Iwai has garnered fine performances from Japanese Pop singers in key roles, most notably Miho Nakayama in Love Letter (1995) and Chara in Picnic (1996) and Swallowtail Butterfly (1996). A trend-setter, he has created a style that resonates with Japanese pop culture, striking a chord with contemporary Japanese youth, especially young women. Although Iwai's films have been well received and awarded in film festivals in and outside of Japan, notably in Toronto and Berlin, he and his films are not yet well known outside of Asia.
Fascinated by film, Iwai spent much of his youth in Sendai theaters before entering Yokohama National University in 1981 where he shot experimental films. Graduating in 1987, he began his career directing music videos and TV ads before beginning in 1991 to write and direct TV dramas. Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom? (1995) aka 'Fireworks: Should We See It From the Side or the Bottom ?' impressively won the Japanese Director's Association Best Newcomer Award, a tribute usually given to directors of feature films. Iwai switched to theatrical productions with the short film Undo (1994). The short feature Picnic (1996) aka 'Picnic', about a trio of mental patients venturing outside to find a spot to view the end of the world, was withheld from release until 1996 due to a fear that the plot mirrored some aspects of the sarin gas attacks in Tokyo in March, 1995. So, Love Letter (1995), a touching drama with quirky humor, became his theatrical feature debut. Typical of Iwai's collaboration with his preferred cinematographer, the late Noboru Shinoda, Love Letter (1995) is visually innovative. They pioneered the use of hand-held "scope" (2.35:1) camera work to lyrically photograph snowy winter scenes. An artistic and commercial breakthrough, it played to sold-out audiences in Japan. Swallowtail Butterfly (1996), set in the near future, was even more popular. Musical numbers such as "My Way" performed by pop star Chara became hits, with these segments of the film used for MTV. With Iwai now very popular, some TV shows such as the Capra-esque Christmas story Ghost Soup (1992) and quirky crime tale Fried Dragon Fish (1993) were scanned to film for release in theaters. Iwai set the tone of his next feature, April Story (1998) aka 'April Story' by using springtime weather creatively, with cherry blossom petals cascading like snowflakes in one early scene, and rain showers pivotal to the ending.
He debuted as an actor in Ritual (2000) and then created an Internet chat site where he guided discussion to create a plot about the mythical pop singer Lily Chou-Chou and her music. This led in 2001 to a CD-ROM "novel" followed by a printed novel and the release of the theatrical feature All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001) aka 'All About Lily Chou-Chou' appropriately the first Japanese feature captured digitally rather than on film. Of many plots involving students, this is Iwai's darkest. Iwai contributed the short-film, 'Arita' to Jam Films (2002), a compilation by seven Japanese directors. Hana and Alice (2004) aka 'Hana and Alice' started as short films on the Nestle website to commemorate the 30th anniversary of "Kit-Kat" bars in Japan. These were merged into a feature film about friendship and first love for theatrical release.
Iwai's first novel, `Love Letter', was published in 1995 along with the film and 'Swallowtail' was published as a novel the following year. The fantasy novel 'Wallece's Mermaid' appeared in 1997. Iwai has noted that many great films came from directors such as Welles and Coppola while in their 20s, but he still feels immature as a filmmaker. However he takes heart that some great novelists wrote their best works after they turned 40. It is possible that Iwai's next masterpiece will be a novel instead of a film.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Brian Greenhalgh - Most recently, Iwai has been splitting his time between Tokyo and Los Angeles, developing international projects. The remake rights to his award-winning film, Love Letter, have just been licensed by New Line Cinema. In 2008 he served on the World Dramatic Competition Jury for the Sundance Film Festival. Also in spring of 2008, he was one of twelve directors asked to write and direct a segment in New York, I Love You, a follow-up to the critically acclaimed Paris, Je T'aime. His segment features the internationally famed actors Orlando Bloom and Christina Ricci. Other writers and directors collaborating for New York, I Love You include Mira Nair, Brett Ratner, Allen Hughes, and Anthony Minghella.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Rhona Medina
- Frequently casts Chara, Tadanobu Asano, Yu Aoi, Ayumi Ito and Tomohiro Kaku
- In 2008 he served on the World Dramatic Competition Jury for the Sundance Film Festival.
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