We Are Aliens wins the Sitges Anima't Award
Kōhei Kadowaki's We Are Aliens becomes the first Japanese film to win Sitges' Anima't Award since 2020.
We Are Aliens, the anime film from director Kōhei Kadowaki and production label NOTHING NEW, has won the Anima't Award for best feature-length film at the 59th Sitges Film Festival in Catalonia.1 The result gives the film a notable festival milestone: it is the first Japanese film to win the award since Seven Days War in 2020.1
Why the award matters
The prize also marks a significant achievement for Kadowaki, who has just turned 30. He is the youngest Japanese director to win the Anima't feature award, according to the report.1 Kadowaki is credited as the film's planner, scriptwriter, director, storyboard artist and editor, giving the project an unusually concentrated creative identity.
We Are Aliens (Ware Ware wa Uchūjin) follows Tsubasa and Gyōtarō, two boys whose childhood friendship is broken by jealousy and misunderstandings. Years later, their separate lives bring them back into contact with the memories they left unresolved.1 Ryōta Bandō and Amane Okayama voice the pair as young adults, while Yūto Maki and Tasuku Nakagome play their younger selves. The wider cast includes Ten Yamasaki, Kemuri Matsui and Gaku Sano.1
The film has already built a strong festival run. It screened at Cannes' Directors' Fortnight and in competition at Annecy, while festivals in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Korea have also included it in their programmes.1 Ottawa International Animation Festival awarded it the Grand Prize for Animated Feature in September, making the Sitges result another high-profile recognition rather than an isolated surprise.
An official trailer presents the film as a reflective coming-of-age story, centred on the two boys and the emotional distance between them.2 The film's music comes from Yaffle, while artist adieu performs the theme song “Sasakure”, titled “Split” in English.1
Our opinion
This is the kind of festival win that gives a distinctive anime film a clearer identity before wider audiences find it. We Are Aliens is not simply collecting attention because of a recognisable franchise: its festival run is being driven by Kadowaki's authorship and by a story built around memory, friendship and regret. Sitges' recognition strengthens the case for keeping the film on the radar when more international release information arrives.