We Are Aliens
2026

We Are Aliens

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.

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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