A tribute to Shunji Iwai | Fantasia 2021

For its 25th anniversary, the Fantasia International Film Festival honoured writer, director and video artist Shunji Iwai with a Career Achievement Award.
His latest film, THE 12 DAY TALE OF THE MONSTER THAT DIED IN 8 - designed as a relief film for the Japanese film industry during the COVID-19 pandemic - perfectly captures the all-too-online moment in which we find ourselves. This is, however, only the latest example of Iwai’s preternatural talent for capturing and sublimating specific periods in life and culture: the unspoken feelings that accompany pivotal moments such as the end of elementary school (FIREWORKS, SHOULD WE SEE IT FROM THE OR THE BOTTOM?), moves to university (APRIL STORY), the uncertainty of marriage and adult life (A BRIDE FOR RIP VAN WINKLE), but also turn-of-the-millennium teen angst (ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU-CHOU), and what it means to live in increasingly interconnected times, via message boards, dating apps, or simple letters sent from lover to lover, across eons of feeling and time (LOVE LETTER, LAST LETTER). A chronicle of our changing hearts and changing times, Iwai’s filmography stands as one of Japanese cinema’s most unique and influential contributions.
Video edited by Eric Lavoie.
#FantasiaFest #Fantasia2021 #ShunjiIwai

[@ette1427]

ONE OF MY FAVORITE DIRECTORS OF EVER, HE HAS MADE ME HAPPY THROUGH HIS FILMS. WHEN I FIRST SAW LILY CHOU-CHOU, I REALISED THE BITTERSWEET QUALITIES OF YOUTH, THEN WHEN I SAW APRIL STORY AND HANA AND ALICE I STARTED TO APPRECIATE THE SMALLER THINGS IN MY LIFE. SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERYFLY HAS ONE OF THE BEST OST OF ALL TIME. NOT TO FORGET LOVE LETTER AND PICNIC TOO. ALL GREAT MOVIES. THE ENGLISH VAMPIRE MOVIE KINDA BAD THOUGH LOW-KEY BUT ITS COOL, MOST VAMPIRE MOVIES KINDA BAD

[@artemio916]

the director that made me fall in love with film 🖤

[@colinsolalcardo]

in love with his work

[@ryanoneiljohnson8743]

Beauty of auteur's insecurities.

[@donitferguz6577]

Trama y eventos sin respuesta

[@brasileiroloko5375]

o melhor diretor

[@gouravmodak3378]

❤