Koji Hoshino, president of animation Studio Ghibli has announced that The Wind Rises, currently in competition at the 70th Venice International Film Festival, will be the last film by widely celebrated director Hayao Miyazaki.

Hoshino commented on Sunday, September 1, that Miyazaki, 72, “wants to say goodbye to all of you,” but declined further questions. A press conference in Japan to be attended by Miyazaki is expected later this week.

photo tokyotimes.com

Only last week, Miyazaki revealed on Japanese TV show Osama no Brunch that he had given approval for Neon Genesis Evangelion director Hideaki Anno to create the sequel to Miyazaki’s breakthrough film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) — a signal that a time of transition was near.

The Wind Rises was the first feature film in five years by Miyazaki, who won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature with his fantasy film Spirited Away (2001). Though prolific in the 1980s, the time between his releases has been increasing in recent years, with a three year wait for Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) and four years until Ponyo (2008).

The studio founded in 1985 by Miyazaki along with Isao Takahata, has already seen releases by four other directors apart from the founders. Yoshifumi Kondo’s Whisper of the Heart (1995) was the first not to be directed by Miyazaki or Takahata, but Kondo died soon after in 1998, which prompted Miyazaki to retire at the time, though he later returned to directing. A spinoff from that film, 2002’s The Cat Returns, was directed by Hiroyuki Morita for the studio.

Hiromasa Yonebayashi directed 2010’s The Secret World of Arrietty, based on English author Mary Norton’s The Borrowers, and is set to direct a follow-up to Miyazaki’s Porco Rosso (1992).

My Neighbor Totoro
photo fanpop.com

But the future of the studio may be in the hands of the Miyazaki family itself, as Miyazaki’s son Goro Miyazaki has already directed two films: the 2006 fantasy movie Tales from Earthsea, that received only a lukewarm reception, and the acclaimed wistful 2011 drama From Up on Poppy Hill.

Princess Mononoke
photo wallpaperpimper.com

Miyazaki’s works have found a global audience, dubbed into English with voice casts that have included Kirsten Dunst as Kiki in Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), Christian Bale, Lauren Bacall and Billy Crystal for Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), and Matt Damon, Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchett, and Tina Fey in Ponyo (2008).

Ponyo
photo disney.wikia.com

Earlier this year, The Cinematheque in Vancouver, screened 16 of Studio Ghibli’s movies, including two that never received an official release in North America. Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, a life-size Catbus from fan-favorite My Neighbor Totoro turned up at fashion mall LCX, to promote collectable character store Donguri Republic.

The art world too, has embraced the works of Miyazaki. Seoul Arts Center’s Hangaram Design Museum is  hosting the first ever exhibition of his layout sketches outside of Japan, in September this year.

The Wind Rises has become one of Miyazaki’s most controversial work, because it depicts airplane engineer Jiro Horikoshi, who developed planes that were used in World War II. Criticism from some quarters of the Korean media forced Miyazaki to explain his choice. Meanwhile, back home in Japan, the film was rebuked by the Japan Society for Tobacco Control, for its alleged promotion of smoking.

via blouinartinfo.com