GKIDS has announced the acquisition of the four-part documentary series 10 Years with Hayao Miyazaki. The project is directed by Kaku Arakawa, who is the man behind the TV documentary Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki.
The four-hour series originally debuted on NHK in Japan in 2019. In the first hour “Ponyo Is Here,” we find out how he dreamed up the characters and plotlines for his 2008 blockbuster Ponyo. He explores the limits of his physical ability and imagination to conjure up memorable protagonists. In the second episode “Drawing What’s Real,” we see how the director delves into his memories of his late mother for a thread to weave the story. “Movies show who you are,” he says. “no matter how hard you try to hide it.”
The third episode “Go Ahead, Threaten Me” shows how sparks begin to fly between him and his son Goro during the making of From Up on Poppy Hill (2011). The final episode “No Cheap Excuses” witnesses how a massive earthquake and a nuclear disaster rock Japan and leave the Ghibli studio team in shock as they must pause their work. Then, the series looks at how Miyazaki decides to embark on a new project at age 72, the 2013 movie The Wind Rises. In the process, Miyazaki grapples with tough questions about issues like aging, and the meaning of making animated films in a turbulent time.
Miyazaki and his team are currently working on the much-anticipated feature How Do You Live?, which is slated to open in Japan on July 14.The project is an adaptation of the 1937 novel How Do You Live? (Kimi-tachi wa Dou Ikuru ka), originally written by Yūzō Yamamoto as part of a serial but handed off to writer Yoshino Genzaburo due to the author’s illness. The story centers on 15-year-old high schooler Junichi Honda, who goes by “Koperu” (after the astronomer Nicholas Copernicus). As he experiences the ups and downs of growing up, his beloved uncle keeps a diary of their talks about emotional challenges, life, relationships and the world.
Watch the NHK trailer here.
Source: GKIDS, NHK Japan
