Japanese Animator Hayao Miyazaki to Receive the 2009 Berkeley Japan Prize Source: Institute of East Asian Studies press release Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley, California has been showcasing the stunning artistry, soaring imagination, and social conscience of internationally acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki in four special screenings, presented in collaboration with the Center for Japanese Studies at UC Berkeley. The screenings have been going on throughout the month of July and culminate in a rare in-person appearance by Miyazaki himself. The Center for Japanese Studies at the University of California, Berkeley is proud to award internationally acclaimed filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki with the 2009 Berkeley Japan Prize, which honors individuals from all disciplines and professions who have, over a lifetime influenced the world`s understanding of Japan. In conjunction with his in-person acceptance of the award, Hayao Miyazaki will be honored with a series of events held on the UC Berkeley campus, celebrating his timeless body of film work. Hayao Miyazaki is the second recipient of the recently inaugurated Berkeley Japan Prize; the 2008 winner was novelist Haruki Murakami. Hayao Miyazaki For nearly fifty years, internationally acclaimed filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki has been enchanting the world with fantastic, meticulously composed and emotionally soaring films, making him one of the world`s most respected and revered animators and directors. Among the dozens of films he has written, directed and animated, his best-known and beloved include: MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO (1988); KIKI`S DELIVERY SERVICE (1989); PRINCESS MONONOKE (1997); SPIRITED AWAY (2001; Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature); and HOWL`S MOVING CASTLE (2004; Oscar nominee for Best Animated Feature). Miyazaki founded his now legendary animation studio, Studio Ghibli, in 1985, shortly after the release of his second major film, NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND. After Studio Ghibli became a household name in Japan, it sought to bring their films overseas and built a partnership with the Walt Disney Company. In 2002, Miyazaki`s masterpiece Spirited Away won the Oscar for best animated feature film — the first Japanese animated film ever to win the award. Audience reaction to SPIRITED AWAY was unprecedented. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times heralded Spirited Away as: "..enchanting and delightful in its own way, and has a good heart. It is the best animated film of recent years... the Japanese master who is a god to the Disney animators." On July 24, the Center for Japanese Studies and PFA will present a special screening of Miyazaki’s new film, PONYO, at Wheeler Auditorium on the UC Berkeley campus. On July 25, Miyazaki will make a rare in-person appearance at Zellerbach Auditorium. For information on these events celebrating CJS’s fiftieth anniversary, please visit ieas.berkeley.edu/cjs/. Saturday, July 25, 2009 The Hayao Miyazaki Symposium 2223 Fulton Street, 6th Floor conference room 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Free and open to the public Leading scholars of Japanese popular culture, literature, and film will discuss Hayao Miyazaki`s work and his international influence in a roundtable panel discussion. Panelists * Deborah Shamoon, East Asian Languages and Cultures, University of Notre Dame — Studio Ghibli and Fantasies of Childhood in Japanese Cinema * Thomas LaMarre, Japanese Studies, McGill University — Miyazaki`s Philosophy of Technology * Margherita Long, Japanese/Comparative Literature, University of California, Riverside — Miyazaki`s Anti-Otaku Discussant * Fred Schodt, Author of Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics and co-translator of Starting Point: 1979-1996, a collected essays, interviews, dialogues, and talks by Miyazaki.
Saturday, July 25, 2009 Hayao Miyazaki in Conversation with Roland Kelts — SOLD OUT 6:00 PM to 7:45 PM Zellerbach Auditorium For this extremely rare, U.S. appearance, Hayao Miyazaki will have a conversation with Roland Kelts (Tokyo University lecturer and author of Japanamerica), followed by a question and answer period with the audience. Join us for an opportunity to engage Miyazaki in a conversation about more than just anime — the social issues and ideas that his films champion, including the future of Japan and the role of the artist in a rapidly evolving world. For tickets to this limited-seating engagement, please visit http://tickets.berkeley.edu/.