Reel Talks: The Worlds of Hayao Miyazaki

Talks on movies, the culture of cinema, and filmmaking.

A master animator and one of cinema's greatest artists, Hayao Miyazaki is able to imagine and populate worlds like no other director or animator—from My Neighbour Totoro to the Oscar-winning Spirited Away and The Boy and The Heron. The Worlds of Hayao Miyazaki journeys through the rich mix of cultural, historical and artistic influences that shape Miyazaki’s storytelling. From Japanese folklore and childhood memories to architecture, classic cinema, literature, and political commentary, it reveals how Miyazaki’s deeply personal vision creates layered worlds that somehow feel both fantastical and grounded in truth. With insight into his process, visual language and recurring themes, including nature, flight, girlhood, resistance and renewal, The Worlds of Hayao Miyazaki offers fans and film lovers a deeper understanding of the imagination behind the magic.

Nicolas Rapold is a journalist, critic, and the author of The Worlds of Hayao Miyazaki. His writing is published in The New York Times, Sight & Sound, W magazine, Air Mail, Filmmaker, Criterion Collection, The Financial Times, and Screen Slate. He hosts the podcast The Last Thing I Saw with critics and filmmakers as guests, and served as editor-in-chief of Film Comment magazine, which won the Film Heritage Award from the National Society of Film Critics.

Scott Adlerberg is the author of five novels, including Graveyard Love, Jack Waters, and The Screaming Child.  He has written many short stories and contributes pieces regularly to sites such as CrimeReads and Mystery Tribune.  He was born in New York City and lives in Brooklyn.