Hiro

Hiro is a Canadian short film, written and directed by Matthew Swanson and released in 2005.[1] The film centres on Hiro (Hiro Kanagawa), a shy Japanese insect collector who finds himself thrust into a wild chase to recover a stolen beetle after a chance encounter with a young girl (Vicky Huang).[2]

The film's dialogue is in Japanese, although Swanson does not personally speak the language.[3] Swanson described it as "liberating" to direct in a language he did not understand.[3]

The film premiered at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival.[1]

The film was nominated for a Genie Award for Best Live Action Short Drama.[4]

It also won the award for Best Short Film at the 2006 SXSW Film Festival,[5] and was the first Canadian film to win the "Spirit of Slamdance" Audience Award at the Slamdance Film Festival.[6]