Last Scene | Image Credit: Apple
Palme d’Or winner Hirokazu Kore-eda joins Apple’s “Shot on iPhone” campaign with a touching sci-fi short.
Shot on iPhone 16 Pro, “Last Scene” follows an aspiring screenwriter, Kurata, who is approached by a curious stranger — his granddaughter from 50 years in the future. When pressed on who she is, Yui, the girl, simply tells him, “It’s a time machine kinda thing.”
The 27-minute film shows the pair as they attempt to save the future of TV drama — and their town’s iconic Ferris wheel. Of course, you’ll have to watch the film if you want to know if the pair was successful or not.
While not a household name in the United States, Kore-eda is known at international film festivals the world over. He’s been racking up awards since the early days of his career in 1995.
In 2018 and 2019, his film, “Shoplifters,” racked up eleven international awards, including the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and Most Popular International Feature at the Vancouver International Film Festival. It even picked up two awards stateside — Best Foreign Film from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and Best Film at the Denver Film Festival.
In typical Apple fashion, there’s also a behind-the-scenes feature that shows how Kore-eda created the film, with interviews from the cast, crew, and, of course, the director himself.
This isn’t the first time Apple has paired with a filmmaker to highlight how capable the iPhone is, either. In fact, it’s become somewhat of an annual tradition.
In 2020, Apple demonstrated the iPhone 11 Pro’s capabilities with Damien Chazelle’s nine-minute short “The Stunt Double.” It stands apart from other films in the series as it was shot entirely in vertical aspect ratio.
In 2022, it commissioned the 20-minute dream-meets-action-flick “Life is But a Dream” from Park Chan-wook. That film showcased the capability of the iPhone 13 Pro.
In 2023, Apple commissioned Indian director Vishal Bhardwaj to help highlight the iPhone 14 Pro as a filmmaking tool. The result was 30-minute film, “Fursat,” which tells the story of a man so obsessed with his future that he risks losing what he has in the present.
Curiously, all three of the films have since been made private — so, you might want to check out “Last Scene” while you can.
