$15 ($12 for Belcourt members)
This seminar is in conjunction with THE BOY AND THE HERON + 5 Studio Ghibli Classics. It will be presented in the 1925 Hall, prior to the 1pm matinee of MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO. Film tickets and seminar tickets are sold separately. Led by artist Sam Smith.
As audiences await the December 6 opening of THE BOY AND THE HERON, the mysterious and highly-anticipated new film from Hayao Miyazaki, artist Sam Smith provides an overview of the personal themes and signatures present throughout the work of the 82-year-old master of Japanese animation. Lesser-known works and beloved classics like PRINCESS MONONOKE, MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, and SPIRITED AWAY will be placed in the larger context of anime and western animation, as well as other projects from the humble empire Miyazaki co-founded, Studio Ghibli, with emphasis on the director’s personal dreams and fantasies, themes of environmentalism and female empowerment, and the many ways in which these films distinguish themselves from typical children’s cinema.
About the speaker
Nashville native Sam Smith (Sam’s Myth) is a graphic designer specializing in film posters for indie and arthouse distributors, his love for Japanese culture and film employed in his poster art for 1977’s HOUSE. He received his BFA in Cinema Studies at New York University where he studied children’s films, animation, and the avant garde.
