Academy Award winner Hayao Miyazaki has been entertaining animated film fans for decades. Ryman Arts will recognize Miyazaki’s work and contributions by presenting him with the annual Sklar Creative Visionary Award on Friday night (Oct. 25).
Miyazaki won an Oscar for his work on the film “Sprited Away” in 2002. He has directed or worked as an artist on 10 feature films and 11 television series. He is currently working on a project at his animation film studio, Studio Ghibli in Tokyo, Japan. The Sklar Creative Visionary Award is presented annually to an individual who has made a distinct contribution to the creative community and demonstrated leadership and made a significant impact in the art world.
“Ryman Arts is thrilled that the legendary Hayao Miyazaki will be the next recipient of the Sklar Creative Visionary Award. His incredible work has advanced the art of visual storytelling and influenced the entire genre of animation, while inspiring us all. I can’t imagine any other individual who so strongly exemplifies the essence of the visionary creativity which this award celebrates,” said Phil Hettema, Ryman Arts Board President and President and Creative Executive of The Hettema Group.
Marty and Leah Sklar are the co-founders of Ryman Arts. The late Marty Sklar was president of Walt Disney Imagineering. Leah Sklar, his wife, is an education advocate and played a key role in defining the mission of Ryman Arts. Since 1990, Ryman Arts, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit group, has served more than 20,000 youths from diverse communities in Southern California and mentored thousands of promising art students.
Miyazaki was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1941. He directed his first feature film, “The Castle of Cagliostro,” in 1979 and wrote and directed his second feature, “Nausicca of the Valley of the Wind,” based on his graphic novel, in 1984.
He and Isao Takahata co-founded Studio Ghibli in 1985. The studio produced 10 feature films including “Castle in the Sky” in 1986, “My Neighbor Totoro” in 1988, “Kiki’s Delivery Service” in 1989, “Porco Rosso” in 1992 and “Princess Mononoke” in 1997.
His award-winning “Spirited Away” broke box office records in Japan and won a number of awards, including the Golden Bear in 2002 at the Berlin International Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film in 2002.
Miyazaki won the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the 2005 Venice International Film Festival.
His latest film, “The Wind Rises,” was nominated for an Academy Award in 2013. He won an honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2014.
He was selected as a Person of Cultural Merit by the government of Japan in 2012 and inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Awards Hall of Fame in 2014. His next feature, “How Do You Live,” is set for release in 2020.
According to a release posted on the Rymanarts.org website, several alumni work in the entertainment industry. Kevin Feige, who received the Sklar Award in 2018, and his creative team at Marvel Studios have worked with the Ryman Arts students to share their ideas in the creative process.
The Sklar Creative Visionary Award will be presented at the annual Ryman Arts dinner and program on Friday, Oct. 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Neuehouse, 6121 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles. Tickets are available to the public. For more details about the 2019 Sklar Creative Visionary Award, visit: rymanarts.givesmart.com.
