Gen Iwama
– Profile
Gen Iwama
Born in 1966, Gen Iwama graduated from Waseda University’s First Faculty of Letters, majoring in Art History.
He then joined Nippon Television Network Corporation, and over the course of 30 years he produced more than 100 television programs, pioneering a fresh approach to documentary filmmaking. His art program Photographer Daido Moriyama: What the Dog Saw on the Street (1996) marked the start of a groundbreaking approach to art documentaries, moving beyond conventional formats. Since then, he has focused on programs about artists and artworks, directing numerous innovative documentaries that revealed untold stories of art in world-renowned museums, including the Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, Hermitage, and Uffizi. He also planned and produced a series of digital art exhibitions, each achieving notable success. His work has received awards including the ATP Prize for Excellence and Special Prize, the Galaxy Award for Excellence, the Television Program of the Year Award, and the AMD Digital Contents of the Year Award.
In 2020, he made his feature film directorial debut with The Past Is Always New, The Future Is Always Nostalgic: Photographer Daido Moriyama. The film—the first to document Moriyama’s creative process—had its world premiere at Paris Photo’s Film Section. It was subsequently selected for the Raindance Film Festival (UK), the Jeonju International Film Festival (Korea), the West Lake International Documentary Festival (China), and the International Art Book & Film Festival (France), among others. It was released in theaters worldwide—including the U.S., UK, France, Germany, Italy, China, Korea, Brazil, and Hong Kong—earning international recognition.
In 2023, he left Nippon Television and founded ON THE SCENE Inc.
In 2025, he directed his second feature film, Please Respond, Cotton Town, which premiered at Shinjuku Cinema Qualité in Tokyo and was screened in theaters across Japan. The film received wide critical and public acclaim, establishing him as a trusted figure in contemporary documentary and art filmmaking.
He continues to work across film, television, and streaming platforms, maintaining a unique style, independently overseeing directing, cinematography, editing, sound recording, music selection, and planning.
