Shunji Iwai: Masterclass & Career Achievement Award

For its 25th anniversary, Fantasia is proud to honour writer, director and video artist Shunji Iwai. 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 chronicler of our changing hearts and changing times, Iwai’s filmography stands as one of Japanese cinema’s most unique and influential contributions.