ARCHIVED ONLINE EVENT - Japan Society Film Club: Spirited Away directed by Hayao Miyazaki

Date
Wednesday 1 December 2021
Time
6.30pm (GMT)
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Booking Details
Free - Booking essential
Priority for Japan Society Members

Please remember to watch the film in advance. Spirited Away is available on Netflix with subscription and in DVD and blu-ray format.

The activities of the Japan Society are made possible thanks to the support of its members. This event is free of charge and open to all. We realise that this is a difficult time for many people. However, if you are planning to attend and do not have a membership subscription as an individual or through your employer, please consider making a donation. You can find details of membership and how to join the Japan Society community here.

Do you love Japanese film classics, anime or contemporary cinema stories? Do you miss Japan and want to see it at least on screen? Would you like to learn and discuss about Japanese culture and society? Join us for the Japan Society Film Club where we will chat online about films and Japan in an informal atmosphere.

Join us on 1 December for our Film Club dedicated to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the animation classic Spirited Away, directed by Hayao Miyazaki in 2001.

Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し, Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi, 2001) follows ten-year-old Chihiro and her parents as they travel to their new home. When they arrive at an abandoned theme park village, everything changes. As if by magic, her parents transform into pigs, and they all become trapped in a bizarre, fascinating world ruled by gods, witches, and spirits. The young Chihiro will need to quickly learn how to survive in this strange world if she’s to have any hope of recovering her parents before it’s too late. Spirited Away has since gone on to become one of the highest-grossing films in Japanese history, winning the Golden Bear award for Best Film at the Berlin International Film Festival (2002) and is the only non-English language film to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature (2002).

Hayao Miyazaki (1941-) is an acclaimed Japanese anime director and one of the founders of the animation company Studio Ghibli. Miyazaki graduated in economics from Gakushuin University in Tokyo before starting his career in the film industry in 1963 as an animator at the studio Toei Animation. While at Toei, he met fellow animator Isao Takahata who became a lifelong friend, collaborator, and business partner. Miyazaki and Takahata left the company in 1971 and went to work at Shin-ei Animation where they worked on anime series such as Arsene Lupin, Heidi, Girl of the Alps and Anne of Green Gables. In 1984, Miyazaki released Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind, based on his manga of the same name. The success of the film led to the establishment of Studio Ghibli, where Miyazaki has since directed, written, and produced celebrated films such as My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Princess Mononoke (1997), Ponyo (2008) and The Wind Rises (2013). Despite the announcement of his retirement from filmmaking in 2013, Miyazaki has kept working making short films and is preparing another feature-length film, How Do You Live?, which is due to be released in 2022.

Japan Society Film Clubs will take place on the first Wednesday of the month. We will recommend a film to watch in advance and meet online to discuss. Films are often available online for free, to rent or with subscription, on DVD/Blu Ray or on BFI player. When possible, we will invite film experts to introduce and lead the discussion, but the event is open to all and we encourage participants to freely express their opinions and feelings about the films.

If you have any questions, please call the Japan Society office on 020 3075 1996 or email events@japansociety.org.uk.

Booking Info