Singapore is getting an unusually special theatrical anime release this year. We Are Aliens (ワレワレハウチュウジン) — a Japanese-French co-production that made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight in May 2026 — has confirmed Shaw Organisation as its Singapore distributor, bringing one of the animation festival circuit’s most talked-about titles of the year to local screens.
What Is We Are Aliens?
Directed by Kōhei Kadowaki and co-produced by Japanese indie label NOTHING NEW and Paris-based Miyu Productions, We Are Aliens is a quietly intimate coming-of-age drama spanning nearly three decades. The story follows two boys — Tsubasa and Gyotaro — in a small Japanese town whose childhood friendship is fractured by a single act of jealousy and misunderstanding. The film then jumps forward in time, tracking them as adults reckoning with what that break cost them.
Kadowaki — whose animation credits include YOASOBI’s acclaimed “A Gentle Comet” music video — serves as writer, director, storyboarder, and editor on the film, giving it a genuinely singular authorial voice. The animation style blends rotoscoped movement with hand-drawn expressiveness, aiming for a grounded, lived-in quality rather than the visual bombast of mainstream releases. Composer Yaffle, closely associated with YOASOBI’s sound, provides the score, with Ryōta Bandō and Amane Okayama leading the adult voice cast.
From Cannes to Annecy: The Festival Run
The film’s world premiere was at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight — historically one of the most director-focused sidebars of the festival, with a track record of championing unconventional debuts. From there it moved to the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in competition, one of the most prestigious animation showcases in the world. Both selections are unusual for a debut feature built on crowdfunding and indie production, and they put We Are Aliens firmly on the path that tends to produce quiet word-of-mouth favourites.
The project was funded via MotionGallery, Japan’s creative crowdfunding platform, where it surpassed its 8 million yen goal to raise 9.6 million yen — real community investment in a project that came almost entirely from outside the mainstream anime production system. International sales are handled by Charades, a Paris-based sales agent with a recent track record of arthouse breakouts from Asia.
Singapore and the Southeast Asia Release
The regional distribution announcement, confirmed on 23 June 2026, covers multiple Asian markets at once: Shaw Organisation holds Singapore, Hooray Films has Taiwan, Intercontinental Film Distributors covers Hong Kong, Sahamongkol Film has Thailand, and Green Narae Media handles South Korea. France is covered domestically by Dulac Distribution.
A specific Singapore theatrical release date has not yet been confirmed — Shaw Organisation holds the rights, but the calendar slot is still to be announced. Given the film’s arthouse profile, expect a limited-screen release rather than a wide multiplex run; keep an eye on Shaw Theatres’ upcoming schedule once the Japan run concludes. We’ll update when a Singapore date is locked in.
If you follow Cannes, love character-driven anime that puts story over spectacle, or simply want to catch something genuinely unusual on a local screen before the word-of-mouth catches up with it, this is a date to keep open. For more anime films and series we’re tracking for Singapore audiences, check our Manga Anime section.
