Miyazaki, Spirit of Nature paints a unique portrait of the life and oeuvre of Hayao Miyazaki, through never-before-seen archives, in-depth analyses, and exclusive testimonials from scientists and people close to the master of Japanese animation. Directed by Léo Favier, the documentary reveals the intimate, political, and ecological impulsions behind Miyazaki's oeuvre.
Since its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, the documentary has been an international success with festivals, distributors, broadcasters, and audiences alike, as Studio Ghibli has fans all over the world.
Loïc Bouchet, the film's producer and founder of Les Bons Clients, as well as Christophe Bochnacki, President of the international sales company Balanga, and Cloë Pinot, International Sales Manager, agreed to answer our questions about this exceptional and ambitious project.
Unifrance: Léo Favier paints a unique portrait of the life and oeuvre of Hayao Miyazaki through archives, analyses, and testimonials from scientists, close friends, and collaborators of the director. Can you tell us more about the genesis of this ambitious project?
Loïc Bouchet: When Léo Favier and I first discussed the idea of making a film about Hayao Miyazaki three years ago, we contacted the European representative of Studio Ghibli. He told us that we shouldn't even consider making the film, as Ghibli is very protective of Miyazaki's oeuvre and refuses all proposals to utilize the films it produces.
With Favier, his co-writer Léo Brachet, and Emi Hiraoka, a French-Japanese film professional who has since become Executive Producer of the documentary, we poured our hearts, convictions, and ethics into developing a different project, which we sent to Studio Ghibli and then presented to them in Tokyo. We then signed an exceptional agreement with them, notably to use extracts from all Miyazaki's films to decipher his oeuvre in a new way. We are infinitely grateful to Studio Ghibli, and honored by their trust.
The documentary takes as its starting point Princess Mononoké, a pivotal film in Hayao Miyazaki's career, to explore its political and ecological influences and messages. Why did this film in particular stand out as a key entry point?
Loïc Bouchet: Princesse Mononoké is a very important film in Miyazaki's oeuvre. Not only was it the film that put him on the international map and set him on the road to conquering America, the film that Disney wanted to distribute, but it was also his most ecological film, as one of our participants Timothy Morton points out. Last but not least, Hayao Miyazaki had to face new and immense challenges if he was to succeed. That's why Favier chose this film to open the documentary on a climax in Miyazaki's life and work, a moment of mad intensity for him.
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The documentary highlights Hayao Miyazaki's desire to raise public awareness about the excesses of our world, and to reinvent our relationship with nature and with each other. Through this film, did you also want to renew our perception of his work and reveal little-known dimensions?
Loïc Bouchet: We indeed wanted to go beyond a simple portrait of the artist and the immense director that he is, to offer a new interpretation of his work, which is incredibly modern and echoes current issues such as the climate crisis and war. We also wanted to give audiences a better understanding of his vision of the world, which advocates a new relationship between human beings, the living world, and nature. That's why we absolutely needed very precise extracts from his films, so that world-renowned specialists from different continents could decipher them, as well as never-before-seen Hayao Miyazaki archives.
What were the main difficulties – and satisfactions – that arose in producing this film?
Loïc Bouchet: The difficulties were many, but the rewards were all the greater. The first difficulty was financial: we had to take major risks at the start of the adventure. It was at this point that the role of Europe's leading broadcaster, Arte, and of our international distributor, Balanga, proved decisive – both in terms of the financial risk they took on our behalf and the pre-sales Balanga made during production, which gave us the financial resources to match our editorial ambitions. The fact that the film is being distributed in cinemas, on television, and digitally, depending on the country, and that it is achieving very good audiences, is a great source of satisfaction for us – not to mention the numerous festival selections, notably in Official Competition at the Venice Film Festival, at the end of August 2024.
By exploring the life and work of a world-renowned animation master, the documentary has strong international potential. What elements do you think will appeal to exhibitors, broadcasters, and foreign audiences alike?
Cloë Pinot: First and foremost, the exceptional abundance of excerpts from Miyazaki's films employed in the documentary is a major asset. For fans, it's an opportunity to rediscover their emblematic characters, from Totoro to Kiki the Little Witch, along with Porco Rosso, and for neophytes, it's an ideal gateway to the filmmaker's poetic and luxuriant universe. Secondly, the film's approach is distinguished by a novel angle: an attempt to decipher the profound message that runs through his entire body of work. It's a lucid, subtle look at the relationship between man, nature, and the animal world, underpinned by an omnipresent ecological sensibility. Miyazaki conveys this message with a rare finesse, capable of touching children and adults alike. Last but not least, the testimonies of his close collaborators – including Toshio Suzuki, Goro Miyazaki, and Hiromasa Yonebayashi – are packed with previously unknown and often amusing anecdotes, sure to delight a wide audience. It's this combination of iconic archives, deep thematic analysis, and intimate storytelling that gives the film its strong universal potential.
Exhibitors are convinced of the documentary's potential in cinemas, not least because Miyazaki's fan base is known to flock to movie theaters in droves whenever his films are released, as demonstrated by the huge success of his latest film, The Boy and the Heron. As far as broadcasters are concerned, they are banking on the documentary's ability to appeal not only to audiences already won over by the Ghibli universe, but also to the curious who would like to make a first foray into it by being guided through the films and their inspirations.
After its world premiere in Venice in 2024, the film continues to do extremely well at festivals. How would you sum up this international success?
Christophe Bochnacki: Since its Venice premiere, the documentary has enjoyed an exciting career on the international scene, with over twenty festivals to its credit. These include Animation Is Film in Los Angeles, Animage in Brazil, CPH:DOX in Denmark, and DocLisboa in Portugal – all opportunities to bring Hayao Miyazaki's art to the big screen for enthusiastic audiences.
At the same time, several theatrical releases have been made possible thanks to agreements with renowned local distributors in Taiwan, South Korea, India, Italy, Benelux... The first dates have already been confirmed: it opened on May 9 in Taiwan, and will follow this on May 28 in Korea. It's a success that testifies to the universal appeal of Miyazaki's oeuvre.
This success confirms that Miyazaki's stories resonate almost everywhere in the world and transcend cultural differences, which is quite unique. Generally speaking, documentary films devoted to an artist are successful in some parts of the world, and less so in others, where the world of the artist himself is little known. With Miyazaki, it's different: he speaks to almost everyone, no matter where they come from, and that's a huge strength.
How has the film been received by international broadcasters?
Christophe Bochnacki: We were struck by how well the film was received by the market: many buyers told us moving stories about their favorite Miyazaki film or their memories of this magical universe.
The documentary has also been acquired by several major broadcasters: Sky in the UK, Movistar+ in Spain, SVT in Sweden, DR in Denmark, RTS in Switzerland, SBS in Australia... A recognition that confirms the emotional and cultural reach of the oeuvre, well beyond the circle of animation fans.
Miyazaki has always been able to unite young and old around universal stories. How do you explain this resonance?
Cloë Pinot: Hayao Miyazaki has succeeded in creating a universe where children and adults can meet, whatever their backgrounds or beliefs. It's incredibly universal, as is his message about the need to rethink our relationship with our environment, because the planet we live on was here before us, and will hopefully be here after, if we respect and care for it.
What's more, for those who, like me, discovered Miyazaki's films as a child, there's something magical about rediscovering them as an adult. There's both a great sense of nostalgia in rediscovering these characters, and a sense of discovery. Each of Miyazaki's films hides several levels of interpretation, and this is also what enables them to bring so many people together.
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