Apple gets Palme d'Or winner Kore-eda to shoot a short film on iPhone

In a marketing stratagem that would make Hollywood studios green with envy, Apple has once again flexed its cinematic muscles by enlisting yet another auteur to its growing stable of acclaimed filmmakers. This time, it's Palme d'Or winner Hirokazu Kore-eda who has been handed an iPhone 16 Pro and told to go forth and create a short film.

The result? Last Scene, a 27-minute film that does precisely what it says on the proverbial tin: peers into the future whilst demonstrating that the future of filmmaking might very well be sitting in your pocket.

Shot entirely on the iPhone 16 Pro—as Apple's marketing department would have you note with considerable enthusiasm—the film follows Kurata, an aspiring television screenwriter portrayed by Taiga Nakano, whose mundane existence in coastal Kamakura is rather spectacularly upended when his granddaughter arrives from 50 years in the future.

One might call it a slight departure from the family dramas Kore-eda typically crafts with such delicate precision.

The time-travelling granddaughter, played by Momoko Fukuchi, presents our protagonist with something of a paradox: save the future of television dramas and potentially erase her very existence.

It's the sort of existential quandary that would have philosophers reaching for the brandy, whilst Apple executives reach for their marketing calendars.

Cinematographer Mikiya Takimoto, no stranger to accolades himself, uses the smartphone to capture both the sweeping vistas of Kamakura and the intimate emotional beats with what critics might describe as "surprising dexterity for a mobile device"—precisely the reaction Apple would be hoping for.

The Cinematic mode creates that coveted shallow depth of field that filmmakers adore, whilst Action Mode stabilises those inevitably dramatic sprints towards Ferris wheels that seem to populate both art house cinema and Apple demonstrations with equal frequency.

This isn't Apple's first rodeo with cinematic heavyweights, mind you. The technology behemoth has cultivated quite the reputation for corralling directorial talent to showcase its ever-improving camera capabilities.

One might say it's become something of a tradition, such as Christmas crackers or queuing politely whilst internally seething.

Just last March, Apple surprised devotees of Japanese culture with Midnight, a 19-minute neo-noir piece directed by acclaimed film director Takashi Miike and shot entirely on the iPhone 15 Pro. 

Adapting a work by manga legend Osamu Tezuka, Miike's film deliberately used Tokyo's neon nightscape to demonstrate the device's prowess in low-light conditions—a technical challenge that would have been unthinkable for mobile technology merely a few years ago.

Following their September 2024 event unveiling the iPhone 16 series, Apple also launched a trio of ads directed by Emmy-winner David Shane and lensed by Oscar-winning cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt, focusing on the integration of Apple Intelligence into everyday life. 

One suspects the budget for these "advertisements" might rival that of some independent features.

The company has also made something of a tradition with the Chinese New Year, annually producing short films that simultaneously honour Chinese cultural traditions while serving as extended demonstrations of iPhone capabilities. It's cultural sensitivity and product demonstration in one neat, marketable package.