Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki was born on January 5, 1941, in Tokyo, Japan. Since a young age he was a big fan of manga and comics, deciding to make a career on that. His first experience in the animation industry was at Toei studio, where he met the two influential figures, Yasuo Otsuka and Isao Takahata, who collaborated with them on his debut feature film, “The Enchanted Princess” (1968). After leaving Toei, Miyazaki joined Nippon Animation in the 1970s, where he contributed to popular animated series like “The Tale of Heidi” (1974) and in 1978 he took on directorial roles for the series “Conan the Future Boy” and, a year later, the film “The Castle of Cagliostro”. In 1985, Miyazaki and Takahata established their own animation studio, Studio Ghibli, developing a unique filmography due to their themes of interest and style. From there, he directed several acclaimed films that garnered him international recognition as a filmmaker. Some notable titles include “Princess Mononoke” (1997), “Spirited Away” (2001), “Howl's Moving Castle” (2004) and “Ponyo on the Cliff” (2008).