The documentary Hayao Miyazaki and the heronbehind the scenes of the latest film by the master of Japanese animation, will be released on November 21 and 22 in cinemas.
A foray into the creation of Hayao Miyazaki. A documentary retracing the creation of the last film by the master of Japanese animation, The Boy and the heron will be released in theaters this month.
The distributor Wild Bunch announced this Tuesday the exceptional broadcast, on November 21 and 22, of the documentary Hayao Miyazaki and the heron. Directed by Kaku Arakawa, it has already been broadcast on Japanese television and on the Max platform in the rest of the world.
This two-hour documentary follows the production of Boy and the herona film made in great secrecy by Hayao Miyazaki. The director, who was inspired by a book published in the 1930s, refined his work for years.
Released in 2023, The Boy and the Heron was a huge success worldwide, grossing almost $300 million at the box office. The film is the biggest success of its filmography in France, with 1.6 million admissions. It also won the Oscar for animated film.
“In preparatory mode”
The film follows young Mahito, who leaves Tokyo with his father to settle in the countryside after the death of his mother. There he meets a heron who takes him into a fantastic universe where he discovers the mystery of his mother’s death and his family history.
The Boy and the Heron is a free adaptation of the novel And you, how will you live? by Genzaburo Yoshino, published in 1937. Toshio Suzuki, Miyazaki’s historic producer, gave him carte blanche on this project.
The now 83-year-old director has given up on retiring and is already preparing a new film. He “is in preparatory mode”, his son Goro Miyazaki revealed last May to the Japanese press.
“He’s doing things (…) that could become his next film, to kill time, I don’t know if it will come to fruition,” he added. Miyazaki has made numerous announcements of his retirement since the mid-1990s without stopping.
