The upcoming anime film We Are Aliens (Ware Ware wa Uchūjin) is expanding its reach, with confirmed festival screenings across Canada, Australia, and New Zealand for 2026. The film will be featured at the Ottawa International Film Festival (OIAF), the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), and the New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF).
Directed by Kōhei Kadowaki—known for his work on the second season of BEASTARS and various YOASOBI music videos—the film explores the fractured friendship between Tsubasa and Gyōtarō. The story follows the pair from their elementary school days through adulthood, as they eventually confront the jealousy and misunderstandings that drove them apart. The cast features Ryōta Bandō and Amane Okayama as the adult versions of the protagonists, while child actors Yūto Maki and Tasuku Nakagome voice their younger counterparts.
Produced by the studio NOTHING NEW in collaboration with the French studio Miyu Productions, the film has already garnered international attention, including a screening at the Cannes Film Festival’s Directors' Fortnight. The project relied on community support to reach completion, with a successful crowdfunding campaign on Motion Gallery that raised over 9.6 million yen, surpassing its initial target.
In addition to the main feature, the festival circuit will spotlight a variety of Japanese animation. The OIAF, running from September 23-27, will also host screenings for the third installment of the Mononoke film trilogy, Gekijōban Mononoke Dai-San-Shō: Hebigami, alongside several notable short films. Meanwhile, the MIFF and NZIFF programs will include Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s live-action adaptation of the historical mystery novel The Samurai and the Prisoner.
