Shunji Iwai

Shunji Iwai (岩井俊二 Iwai Shunji, born January 24, 1963 in Sendai, Japan, Miyagi prefecture). Iwai is a Japanese film director/video artist, writer and documentarian.
Iwai attended Yokohama National University, graduating in 1987. In 1988 he started out in the Japanese entertainment industry by directing TV dramas and music videos. Then, in 1993, his TV drama, Fireworks, brought him critical praise and an award from the Japanese Director's Association for his portrayal of a group of children in the town of Iioka.
In 1995 he went on to start his career in feature films, starting with the box-office hit Love Letter, in which he cast pop singer Miho Nakayama in challenging dual roles. Love Letter also launched the movie career of Miki Sakai who won a Japanese Academy Award as 'Newcomer of the Year' for her portrayal of Itsuki Fujii as a young girl. Iwai collaborated with cinematographer Noboru Shinoda to produce a film praised for its evocative winter cinematography. Love Letter made an impact in other east Asian countries too, notably South Korea where the film's success helped break down the post-World War II barriers to Japanese films being shown there.
In 1996 came the commercial and