It’s been 10 years since the release of Hayao Miyazaki’s last film as a director, but he’s finally ready for a comeback. Studio Ghibli’s latest animated masterpiece The Boy and the Heron will serve as the opening film at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.
The Boy and the Heron shares the title with Genzaburō Yoshino’s novel from 1937, but it tells an original story of a young boy who enters an alternative world filled with magic with a talking grey heron after discovering an abandoned tower in his new town.
Cameron Bailey, the CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival said that they’re honored to open the latest edition of this event with the work of one of cinema’s greatest artists.
“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,” said Bailey in a statement.
The Boy and the Heron scored Studio Ghibli’s biggest opening in Japan, despite the company’s unconventional decision to release it without any promo. It’s Miyazaki’s first directorial effort since The Wind Rises in 2013, and it will open TIFF on September 7.
