The anime film We Are Aliens (Ware Ware wa Uchūjin), directed by Kōhei Kadowaki and produced by NOTHING NEW, has won the Kau Ka Hōkū (Shooting Star) Award at the 46th Hawai’i International Film Festival in Waikiki. The award, presented on Sunday, recognizes an international filmmaker’s first or second feature film.
Story
We Are Aliens follows Tsubasa and Gyōtarō, two boys who became close friends in elementary school, only to be driven apart by jealousy and misunderstandings. Years later, living very different lives, the two are forced to confront their shared past when old memories resurface.
Cast
- Ryōta Bandō (Fureru., Japanese dub of the live-action How to Train Your Dragon) voices adult Tsubasa
- Amane Okayama (Blue Giant, live-action I”s, Hirayasumi) voices adult Gyōtarō
- Yūto Maki and Tasuku Nakagome, both cast through auditions, voice young Tsubasa and young Gyōtarō respectively
- Ten Yamasaki (Sakurazaka46) as Konatsu
- Comedian Kemuri Matsui as Batahara
- Gaku Sano as Tsubasa’s friend Seiya Toda
- Reika Ōzeki as young Seiya
- Arisa Sasaki as Toda’s friend Elmo Matsushita
- Edo Harumi as a calligraphy teacher
Staff & Music
Kadowaki — known for creating the ending sequence of BEASTARS Season 2 and music videos for YOASOBI — served as planner, scriptwriter, director, storyboard artist, and editor on the film. The score was composed by Yaffle, who has previously worked with Fujii Kaze and Kenshi Yonezu, among others. NOTHING NEW produced the film in collaboration with French studio Miyu Productions (Ghost Cat Anzu, A New Dawn), which joined the project in June 2025. Artist adieu performs the theme song “Sasakure” (Split).
Festival Run & Awards
We Are Aliens opened in Japan on September 15. The film has had an extensive international festival run, including a screening at the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival (May 14), a competition slot at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival (June 21–27), and screenings at the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), the New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF), and the 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF).
The film has accumulated a remarkable awards haul: the Grand Prize for Animated Feature at the Ottawa International Animation Festival last month; the Anima’t Award for Best Feature-Length Film at the 59th Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya in Sitges, Spain earlier this month; a Special Mention in the Alice nelle città section of the 21st Rome Film Festival (October 25); and an Honorable Mention at the 35th Philadelphia Film Festival (October 25). The Hawai’i Kau Ka Hōkū Award is the latest addition to this growing list.
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