You Are The Film (Fantasia Film Festival 2026)

Makoto Ueda is a name that may not leap off the page within the community of Japanese movie lovers, but his work certainly does as he’s the scriptwriter behind two of the most wholesome sci‑fi movies of the past five years – River (2023), and Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (2020). If those titles mean nothing to you then fix that, because they’re among the most whimsical and pleasant iterations of the sci‑fi time loop theme, and after numerous shorts and TV projects, You Are the Film marks Ueda’s feature directorial debut (just about – it runs for a brisk 67 minutes). Those earlier scripts involved unlucky individuals reliving the same two‑minute period until everything – relationship issues included – is finally resolved, but the sheer number of moving parts in those movies is frankly mind-boggling, and it almost seems magical how he kept it all straight. We’re talking about a very intelligent writer here, so his directorial debut must be a project of similar narrative denseness, right? Well, yes – but this one will take some explaining as the simple version of the synopsis is simply the title – You Are the Film, but Ueda’s scripts have never been that straightforward.

After fledgling playwright Madoka (Marika Ito), puts on her latest production, she chats with her cast and friends about what she should tackle next. The café manager (Gota Ishida), recommends she check out a new movie called “Sangenjaya Escape” playing at the Tollywood cinema next door, and gives her the hard sell – teasing Madoka that she probably wouldn’t go because it’s too “B‑movie” for her. The film isn’t what she expected, and after several scenes the male protagonist doesn’t speak and simply stares straight ahead in what looks like a similar cinema hall. While this is happening, struggling rock frontman Kazuma (Kai Inowaki), walks in to the Tollywood cinema’s empty screening room to watch “Shimokitazawa Exodus” (also on a recommendation), arriving after the film has started and seeing Madoka on the screen sitting alone in a cinema. She’s watching a movie with him in it, just as he’s now watching a movie with her in it, but neither realises this until one of them makes a comment about the other. The pair realise they can talk to each other through the screen, discovering that their lives outside Tollywood are the subjects of each film and that their separate movies have somehow collided.

Now armed with the power of spoilers and a screening room that functions like a giant video‑conferencing booth (much to the irritation of the cinema employee), the two decide to help each other fix the problems in their lives and resolve the stories unfolding around them. Unfortunately this isn’t the best idea as by “helping” each other, Madoka and Kazuma are creating a cosmic crisis and reality itself starts to get a bit … weird. As one character eventually explains, we’re dealing with an accidental cinematic multiverse within the confines of a single movie, and something I will always be impressed by is how Ueda keeps things straight.

“Shimokitazawa Exodus” is a sci‑fi story about an alien princess who’s discovered a passion for acting, only for the ruse to fall apart as interplanetary forces find and try to kidnap her. “Sangenjaya Escape” is a crime piece in which a wantaway guitarist steals money from the wrong person, sending him and his bandmates spiralling into money laundering, murdered policemen, illegal casinos and the Z‑Fund. You Are the Film plays pass‑the‑parcel with these two narratives: when one takes precedence, we return to the screening room; when the other takes precedence, a character emerges to explain the contrivance; and chaos ensues when the two movies become one. People unfamiliar with River, Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes and modern Japanese indie cinema may assume that movies‑within‑the‑movie are large spectacle‑driven affairs, but they’re not. They’re both micro‑indies with a small‑scale DIY feel, and it’s that vibe that makes Ueda’s work so whimsical and charming. Placing all this within a small, picturesque square of Tokyo elevates the whole thing because, counter to the adage, bigger doesn’t always make better, and the smaller scale allows a sense of wonder to flourish.

To borrow the verbiage of Doctor Who, River, Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes and You Are the Film complete a wonderful trilogy of “wibbly‑wobbly, timey‑wimey” sci‑fi. The economy of Ueda’s script, the sheer mass of storytelling and world‑building packed into just over an hour, the relatable real‑world locations, the cast of characters who behave like real people trapped in a ridiculous scenario – it all adds up. Simply put, there’s no one else in the world right now making movies like this, or making them this well, and that’s exactly what I love about world cinema – it provides flavours you just aren’t getting from your domestic output. While You Are the Film doesn’t hit the highs of its siblings in this thematic trilogy, it’s still a short, sharp jab of joy that’s near‑impossible to leave without a smile on your face. Even the darker suggestions of the final shot do little to quell the sheer vibes, Ueda’s latest offering showing that when imagination runs this freely, even the smallest movie can feel like a universe unto itself.

ROB’S ARCHIVE – YOU ARE THE FILM