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Studio Ghibli Earns Cannes' Honorary Palme d'Or; Time Magazine Names Hayao Miyazaki in Top 100 Most Influential People List

The 77th Cannes International Film Festival announced on Wednesday that it is awarding Studio Ghibli with the Honorary Palme d'Or. The prize honors those who have achieved notable work but had never won a competitive Palme d'Or, the festival's highest award. According to the festival's staff, this marks the first time Cannes is giving the honor to a group as opposed to a single person.

In related news, Time Magazine revealed its list of the world's most influential people of 2024 on Thursday, and it named Hayao Miyazaki as one of the top 100 people. He is in the "Icons " category.

Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki said regarding the Honorary Palme d'Or:

"I am truly honored and delighted that the studio is awarded the Honorary Palme d'or. I would like to thank the Festival de Cannes from the bottom of my heart. Forty years ago, Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata and I established Studio Ghibli with the desire to bring high-level, high-quality animation to children and adults of all ages. Today, our films are watched by people all over the world, and many visitors come to the Ghibli Museum, Mitaka and Ghibli Park to experience the world of our films for themselves. We have truly come a long way for Studio Ghibli to become such a big organization. Although Miyazaki and I have aged considerably, I am sure that Studio Ghibli will continue to take on new challenges, led by the staff who will carry on the spirit of the company. It would be my greatest pleasure if you look forward to what's next."

Star Wars creator George Lucas is also receiving an Honorary Palme d'Or at the event. The annual film festival takes place in France this year from May 14 to May 25.

Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki's latest feature film The Boy and the Heron (Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru ka) opened in Japan in July 2023, and sold 1.003 million tickets and earned about US$13.2 million in its first three days in Japan. It is the #59 highest-grossing film ever in Japan (as of March 31), and was the third highest-grossing domestic film in Japan in 2023. The film has earned 9.26 billion yen (about US$61.0 million) in Japan. The film ranked at #1 in its opening weekend in the U.S. box office, with an earning of US$12,836,313 in its first three days.

The film won Best Animated Feature Film in the 96th Academy Awards ceremony on March 10.

Miyazaki rose to prominence in the 1970s on such television anime series as Lupin III, Future Boy Conan, and Sherlock Hound. He directed his first feature film, Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, in 1979. He then adapted the beginning of his Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind manga into an anime film in 1984, before he and fellow director Isao Takahata founded Studio Ghibli.

With Ghibli, Miyazaki helmed the feature films Laputa: Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo, and The Wind Rises. He also co-produced Takahata's directorial efforts and directed smaller projects such as the "experimental film" On Your Mark and Ghibli Museum Shorts such as Mei and the Kitten Bus and Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess.

Time Magazine previously named game creator Hidetaka Miyazaki (Elden Ring, Dark Souls, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, no relation to Hayao) in its list of the world's most influential people of 2023.

Sources: Cannes, Time Magazine (link 2), Deadline (Zac Ntim, link 2, Greg Evans)