‘One Cut of the Dead’ Director Ueda Shinichiro on Turning a Microdrama Into Tokyo Feature ‘Earthlings in Love’

Ueda Shinichiro’s feature film “Earthlings in Love” expands a story first released as a vertical social media microdrama, exploring how memory differs from what is recorded. The project reflects Ueda’s interest in filmmaking and its effects, while using the vertical frame to shape what viewers can see and infer.

The story follows Shinpei, a director diagnosed with young-onset dementia who tries to complete a film he began with friends as a teenager. Its 30 online episodes had a combined runtime of 76 minutes; Ueda re-edited them into a 111-minute feature after a positive online response. He added previously omitted scenes and new footage, while removing cliffhangers designed to bring viewers back to the series.