Hayao Miyazaki’s ‘The Boy And The Heron’ To Open Toronto International Film Festival 2023

etcanada.com:

“The Boy and the Heron,” the first film in a decade by Japanese anime master Hayao Miyazaki, will open the 48th Toronto International Film Festival, organizers announced Thursday.

The long-awaited “The Boy and the Heron” opened earlier this month in Japan under the title “How Do You Live?” Miyazaki, the 82-year-old co-founder of Studio Ghibli and the maker of films including “Spirited Away” and “My Neighbor Totoro”, came out of retirement to make his 12th feature. READ MORE: Toronto International Film Festival 2023: Diljit Dosanjh & Arjun Rampal’s ‘Punjab ’95’ Set For World Premiere “The Boy and the Heron,” about a boy named Mahito whose mother is killed in the WWII fire bombings of Tokyo, was released without any trailer or marketing promotions in Japan as a way, Miyazaki has said, to make seeing the film more of a discovery.

But “The Boy and the Heron” will get a big platform to make its North American premiere when it kicks off TIFF on Sept. 7 at the Roy Thomson Hall. READ MORE: Toronto International Film Festival 2023: 60 New Films Announced Including Directorial Debuts From Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine & More “We are honoured to open the 48th Toronto International Film Festival with the work of one of cinema’s greatest artists,” Cameron Bailey, TIFF chief executive CEO, said in a statement. “Already acclaimed as a masterpiece in Japan, Hayao Miyazaki’s new film begins as a simple story of loss and love and rises to a staggering work of imagination.

I look forward to our audience discovering its mysteries for themselves, but I can promise a singular, transformative experience.” No release date has yet been announced but GKIDS will distribute “The Boy and the the Heron” later this year in North American