EXCLUSIVE: Here’s your first look at Miyazaki, Spirit Of Nature , which debuts at this year’s Venice Film Festival. The doc, directed by Leo Favier, is billed as the “first documentary to focus on Hayao Miyazaki’s deep connection to nature and the environmental themes expressed through his films.” The official synopsis reads: Through iconic characters such as Totoro and Princess Mononoke, Miyazaki’s films reflect his deep concerns about the world, often autobiographical and echoing the upheavals of the 20th century.
Miyazaki, Spirit of Nature , enriched with exceptional film excerpts and insights from voices like his son and director Goro Miyazaki, his producer Toshio Suzuki, and the philosopher Timothy Morton, reveals Miyazaki’s profound ecological work that questions our relationship with the natural world and living creatures. The film was written by Favier and Léo Brachet. Producers are Les Bons Clients (Loïc Bouchet, Thibaut Camurat), ARTE France Tag Film (Christian Popp), Emi Gueydan-Hiraoka.
The main cast features Toshio Suzuki, Goro Miyazaki, Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Philippe Descola, Timothy Morton, Susan Napier, Shin-Ichi Fukuoka, and Seiji Kanoh — who all appear as themselves. Discussing his vision for the pic, Favier said: With Miyazaki, Spirit Of Nature I want, on one hand, to tell his life story. A film is like a great journey through the twentieth century, where the magic of animation appears as an intimate way to counter reality.
Favier added .