GKIDS Acquires NorAm Rights to Hayao Miyazaki Documentary ‘Never-Ending Man’

NEW YORK — GKIDS, the acclaimed producer and distributor of animation for adult and family audiences, has acquired the North American distribution rights for the documentary feature Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki. The film is helmed by Kaku Arakawa. GKIDS will release the film theatrically this winter.

Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki follows formerly-retired film director and animator Hayao Miyazaki as he experiments for the first time with CGI. Miyazaki is a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter, animator, author, and manga artist. In 1985 he co-founded Studio Ghibli and went on to direct highly influential and acclaimed animated films such as Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away — which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2003. Miyazaki’s critical and commercial success continued through his final run of films including Howl’s Moving Castle, Ponyo, and The Wind Rises. After the 2013 release of The Wind Rises, he announced his retirement from directing, however his endlessly inventive mind has turned towards new creative avenues.

“GKIDS is excited to be able to share this intimate, unfiltered, and incredibly insightful look at Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, at home and in the studio, as he struggles to complete his latest film,” GKIDS CEO Eric Beckman commented. “Spending this much face time with Miyazaki is a rare treat, for fans and non-fans alike, as we witness in real time the passions, frustrations, irritations, and childlike enthusiasm of an acknowledged legend, acutely aware that he may be creating his final work, and striving to make something vital. More than a portrait of a filmmaker, the film is a window into the life, philosophy and essence of an artist in the act of creation.”

The all-rights deal for Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki was negotiated by Eric Beckman of GKIDS and Akiko Nakano of NHK Enterprises Inc.

Here’s the official synopsis, and you can checkout the trailer in the video player below:

In 2013, film director and animator Hayao Miyazaki suddenly announced his retirement at the age of 72. But he couldn’t shake his burning desire to create. After an encounter with young CGI animators, Miyazaki embarked on a new endeavor, his first project ever to utilize CGI. But the artist, who had been adamant about hand-drawn animation, confronted many challenges. The film even faces the danger of being cancelled. Can an old master who thinks he’s past his prime shine once again? This program goes behind the scenes over two years as Miyazaki overcomes struggles to create his short film using CGI.

Source: GKIDS