Having received his education at Yokohama National University, Shunji Iwai started out in the entertainment industry by directing music videos and television dramas, including the likes of Maria, Lunatic Love and Fireworks, for which he received the award for Best Newcomer from the Japanese Director's Association. He eventually moved onto larger things with his short film 爱的捆绑 (1994), later followed by the hit 燕尾蝶 (1996) starring Japanese pop singer, Chara.
As his career progressed, he received even more awards, especially for his films 情书 (1995) and 关于莉莉周的一切 (2001) (All About Lily Chou-Chou). Shunji Iwai resides in Japan.
In 2008 he served on the World Dramatic Competition Jury for the Sundance Film Festival.
Frequently casts Chara, Tadanobu Asano, Yu Aoi, Ayumi Ito and Tomohiro Kaku
