HAYAO MIYAZAKI: 10 YEARS WITH THE MASTER is an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the genius of Japan's foremost living film director. Hayao Miyazaki is the creator of some of the world's most iconic and enduring anime feature films, including Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro and the Academy Award-winning Spirited Away. For a decade, Miyazaki allowed a single documentary filmmaker to shadow him at work, following the master as he works on Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, From Up On Poppy Hill and The Wind Rises.
Hayao Miyazaki dreams up characters and plot lines for what would become his 2008 blockbuster, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea. Miyazaki explores the limits of his physical ability and imagination to conjure memorable protagonists.
As Miyazaki dreams up characters and plot lines for Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, he delves into memories of his late mother for a thread to weave the story. "Movies show who you are," Miyazaki says, "no matter how hard you try to hide it."
Sparks begin to fly as Miyazaki and his son Goro, an up-and-coming director, work on the 2011 film From Up on Poppy Hill. In the final stretch, a massive earthquake and nuclear disaster rock Japan and leave the team in shock. Amid power outages, they decide they must pause their work. That's when Hayao puts his son's resolve as a director to the test.
At age 72, Miyazaki takes on a new challenge - one that would become the highly-acclaimed 2013 film The Wind Rises, Miyazaki's first film about a historical figure. Bringing the film from concept to reality turns out to be a long and difficult journey. In the process, Miyazaki grapples with tough questions about issues such as aging, and the meaning of making animated films in a turbulent time.
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