Film Screening: "The Boy and the Heron" (Hayao Miyazaki, 2023)

Duke University Union Freewater Presentations and APSI are collaborating to bring three films from the award-winning Studio Ghibli to Duke's campus the week of February 6-10, 2024.

In the third film, The Boy and the Heron (君たちはどう生きるか), Mahito, a young 12-year-old boy, struggles to settle in a new town after his mother's death. However, when a talking heron informs Mahito that his mother is still alive, he enters an abandoned tower in search of her, which takes him to another world.

This is said to be the final feature length film from the legendary Hayao Miyazaki. Remarkably, The Boy and the Heron was released with the intentional absence of any promotion such as trailers, images, synopsis or casting details of the film in advance of its Japanese premiere, with the exception of a single, abstract poster. This highly acclaimed film went on to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film (2023) and was also nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film and Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

"If this really is Miyazaki's final word, then it's a conclusion worthy of his legacy. At the same time, his imagination remains so vast, it feels like he could keep creating forever." - Clarisse Loughrey, Independent

"The Boy and the Heron is a movie that captures many of Miyazaki's long held obsessions while still managing to innovate in storytelling and visual form." - Esther Zuckerman, GQ

"Miyazaki's latest film stands as a testament to his enduring legacy. It's a mature, complex masterpiece, weaving together the director's past, present, and future -- a beautiful enigma that promises to be worth the wait." -Emma Steen, Time Out

Free and open to the public.

This film will also be screened on February 9 at 7PM and 10PM.