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NHK World Airs Hayao Miyazaki Documentary on Saturday

NHK World will air the Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki (Owaranai Hito Miyazaki Hayao) television special on Saturday. The special will air on Saturday at 11:10 a.m. EDT, and will have repeat airings at 5:10 p.m. EDT, 11:10 p.m. EDT, and then on Sunday at 5:10 a.m. EDT.

Programs on NHK World are streamed live.

NHK describes the program:

3 years ago, the Academy Award-winning animated film director Hayao Miyazaki shocked the world when he announced his retirement at age 72. But his creative impulse never faded. After meeting a group of young animators who specialize in computer graphics, he decides to make a short film using CGI to explore new expressive possibilities. Will the short film he releases change the future of Japanese animation? The creative process proves so difficult that he almost calls it quits. This program documents the tremendous struggle that unfolds behind the scenes as Miyazaki, inspired by a new medium, wrestles with CGI for the first time.

The special is part of the "Your Anime Vacation" programming on NHK World, which will also air The Dragon Dentist two-part special on Friday and Saturday.

Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki originally aired in November on NHK. In the program, acclaimed anime director Hayao Miyazaki reported that he wants to return to making an anime feature film, after retiring from directing feature films three years ago.

Miyazaki has been working on "Kemushi no Boro" (Boro the Caterpillar), a planned CG short for the Ghibli Museum.

Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki stated at an event in the United States in February that Miyazaki is starting preparations to work on a new feature film. Suzuki stated at the event that Miyazaki showed him the storyboards for the new work. Suzuki said, "Even now [Miyazaki] is working very hard in Tokyo to create."

Thanks to Mohawk52 for the news tip.