How Ghibli Was Born

Follows the behind-the-scenes work of Studio Ghibli, focusing on the notable figures Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki.

A documentary about the Ghibli Museum. It features Goro Miyazaki speaking with Isao Takahata about the "charm" of the museum and its various influences. Goro tours the viewer around the museum, explaining the intricate details that his father, Hayao Miyazaki made during its construction. The documentary highlights the strong European influences in the museum's architecture, featuring footage of the medieval mountainous city of Calcata in Italy and the historic port city of Genoa, which Miyazaki had visited in the past. These trips would go on to influencing the imagery seen in Castle in the Sky, Kiki's Delivery Service, Porco Rosso, and Spirited Away.

Stepping closer and closer to his retirement, Hayao Miyazaki has no other means, but to choose up a new director. Ghibli's given some creative freedoms in the past, but they hardly lasted. Maro, an animator of 37 years. has done a good deed of works in his prior days. Thus, Miyazaki-san decides to appoint him as a new director for the upcoming feature of 'Arrietty the Borrower'.

Studio Ghibli is Japan's most successful animation studio, with helmers Hayao Miyazaki ("Spirited Away," "My Neighbor Totoro") and Isao Takahata ("Grave of The Fireflies," "The Tale of Princess Kaguya") creating a bonanza for producer/prexy Toshio Suzuki. Generously adorned with clips from their films and their influences, the docu follows Ghibli's arc from a mid-'60s rebellion against working conditions at Toei Co. to its present powerhouse position, complete with public fun park. All interviews are illuminating, but Miyazaki is teasingly confined to pic's tete-a-tete finale with esteemed French comic artist Jean "Moebius" Giraud. Meeting of the wizened European, whose imprint is on films from "Blade Runner" to "The Fifth Element," and the apparently relaxed Nipponese helmer makes an interesting contrast, and will be of special interest to Francophiles. All credits are impeccable

In Italy in the 1930s, sky pirates in biplanes terrorize wealthy cruise ships as they sail the Adriatic Sea. The only pilot brave enough to stop the scourge is the mysterious Porco Rosso, a former World War I flying ace who was somehow turned into a pig during the war. As he prepares to battle the pirate crew's American ace, Porco Rosso enlists the help of spunky girl mechanic Fio Piccolo and his longtime friend Madame Gina.

The Yamadas are a typical middle class Japanese family in urban Tokyo and this film shows us a variety of episodes of their lives. With tales that range from the humorous to the heartbreaking, we see this family cope with life's little conflicts, problems, and joys in their own way.

At Kichijōji Station, Tokyo, Taku Morisaki glimpses a familiar woman on the platform opposite boarding a train. Later, her photo falls from a shelf as he exits his apartment before flying to Kōchi Prefecture. Picking it up, he looks at it briefly before leaving. As the aeroplane takes off, he narrates the events that brought her into his life...

The Raccoons of the Tama Hills are being forced from their homes by the rapid development of houses and shopping malls. As it becomes harder to find food and shelter, they decide to band together and fight back. The Raccoons practice and perfect the ancient art of transformation until they are even able to appear as humans in hilarious circumstances.

Something bizarre has come over the land. The kingdom is deteriorating. People are beginning to act strange... What's even more strange is that people are beginning to see dragons, which shouldn't enter the world of humans. Due to all these bizarre events, Ged, a wandering wizard, is investigating the cause. During his journey, he meets Prince Arren, a young distraught teenage boy. While Arren may look like a shy young teen, he has a severe dark side, which grants him strength, hatred, ruthlessness and has no mercy, especially when it comes to protecting Teru. For the witch Kumo this is a perfect opportunity. She can use the boy's "fears" against the very one who would help him, Ged.

The dialogue-less film follows the major life stages of a castaway on a deserted tropical island populated by turtles, crabs and birds.

"The 800 Mile Wall" highlights the construction of new border walls along the U.S.-Mexico border as well as the effect on migrants trying to cross in the U.S. This powerful 90 minute film is an unflinching look at a failed U.S. border strategy that many believe violates fundamental human rights.

A documentary crew returns to the shooting locations of Sam Peckinpah's legendary western to reflect on the film and the way it impacted their lives.

A film about the cultural evolution of the Sydney beach side suburb of Maroubra and the social struggle faced by it's youth - the notorious surf gang known as the Bra Boys.

A Zen priest in San Francisco and cookbook author use Zen Buddhism and cooking to relate to everyday life.

This stirring and visually immersive documentary brings us inside the spirited pursuits of David Hanson, a restless inventor aiming to perfect the world’s most life-like A.I. With freewheeling energy and storytelling gusto, Jon Kasbe and Crystal M...

Hayat, an expert sailor in the Arctic, navigates far from humans and her family's past in France. But when her little sister Leila gives birth to a baby girl Inaya, their worlds are turned upside down; we witness their journey, guided by the polar star, to overcome the family’s fate.

A British expeditionary team attempt a dangerous, world-first circumnavigation of the Earth in an 80-year-old vintage World War II fighter to inspire a new generation through the freedom of flight.

Actress-director Zabou Breitman embarks on an unusual adventure: imagining the life of a boy discovered in an old photo from an album bought at a flea market. These are the images and memories of an unknown family, which somehow feel familiar. At the center is the boy, with his gaze that is both gentle and melancholic yet joyful. Who is he? What is his true story, the one that unfolds between the lines? What if every individual were also the unwitting hero of a tale? This dizzying family investigation blurs the lines between reality and fiction, sometimes merging them completely.

Josh Alexander’s Loudmouth documents the winding road that is Al Sharpton’s life story as an iconic activist and spiritual leader.

A rousing portrait of feminist writer Andrea Dworkin, one of the most controversial and misunderstood figures of the 20th century, who fought passionately for justice and equality for women.