CANNES, France (AP) — Studio Ghibli, the Japanese anime factory of surreal ecological wonders that has for 39 years spirited away moviegoers with tales of Totoros, magical jellyfish and floating castles, was celebrated Monday by the Cannes Film Festival with an honorary Palme d’Or.
In the 22 years that Cannes has been handing out honorary Palmes, the award for Ghibli was the first for anything but an individual filmmaker or actor. (This year’s other recipients are George Lucas and Meryl Streep.) Hayao Miyazaki, the 83-year-old animation master who founded Studio Ghibli in 1985 with Isao Takahata and Toshio Suzuki, didn’t attend the ceremony, but he spoke in a video message taped in Japan.
“I don’t understand any of this,” said Miyazaki. “But thank you.”
At Cannes, where standing ovations can stretch on end, the fervor that greeted Ghibli’s emissaries — Goro Miyazaki (son of Hayao) and Kenichi Yoda — was nevertheless among the most thunderous receptions at the festival. Thierry Fremaux, Cannes’ artistic director, walked across the stage of the Grand Théâtre Lumière filming the long ovation, he said, for a video to send to Miyazaki.
These hilarious notices will make you do a double take
Cowboys get Oklahoma offensive lineman Tyler Guyton after trading down in NFL draft
No 10 hits back at Emmanuel Macron's jibe that the Rwanda scheme is a 'betrayal' of European values
China's Miao embroidery shows at Milan Fashion Week
Auburn running back Brian Battie on ventilator after weekend shooting in Florida, coach says
Cowboys get Oklahoma offensive lineman Tyler Guyton after trading down in NFL draft
Culture festival showcases integration
Colts take first defensive player of NFL draft, UCLA edge rusher Laiatu Latu at No. 15
Russian theater director and playwright go on trial over a play authorities say justifies terrorism
‘The movement will persist’: Advocates stress Weinstein reversal doesn’t derail #MeToo reckoning