Ueda Expands Social Media Shorts Into Vertical Feature For Tokyo Festival

Director Ueda Shinichiro is screening 'Earthlings in Love' in the Nippon Cinema Now section of the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival. The film originated as a series of 30 vertical microdramas released on social media, each lasting only a few minutes. Ueda stated that enthusiastic online reactions prompted the team to expand the project into a feature-length work for theatrical release.

The narrative follows Shinpei, a director who learns he has young-onset dementia. He attempts to record his memories by completing a film he began with friends during his teenage years. Ueda drew the story from a trip to his hometown, where he realized that old schoolmates remembered shared events differently or had forgotten details entirely. He aimed to explore the gap between personal memory and recorded facts.

The vertical aspect ratio presents specific production challenges. Ueda noted that group shots are difficult to frame, but he used the format to withhold information from the viewer’s sight. Details are later revealed from different angles, a technique he linked to the visual limitations often associated with dementia.

The editing process varied significantly between the online and theatrical versions. The original social media series totaled 76 minutes, while the feature film runs 111 minutes. Ueda explained that online audiences tend to swipe away during slow pacing, whereas theater audiences can remain seated for up to two hours. This allowed the feature to restore deleted shots and lines, include newly shot material, and remove cliffhanger endings designed to retain online viewers.

Ueda said his directing approach remained consistent with his earlier works, such as 'One Cut of the Dead' and 'Special Actors.' He noted that while actors in short dramas often use exaggerated performances, his cast had feature film experience and performed at that standard. The main lesson from his previous microdramas involved audience response rather than technical execution.

The production timeline for the microdramas was much shorter than for the feature. Ueda described a process where an idea conceived in the morning could be filmed in the afternoon and released that evening. By comparison, the feature film required at least 12 months to reach theaters.

Ueda expects both vertical shorts and traditional cinema to persist in the market. He believes the demand for vertical content will continue to grow, but theaters will remain because they offer a specific ritual. He compared going to a cinema to attending a church, noting that it is currently the only place in Japan where people switch off their phones and sit together for two hours.