MANILA, Philippines — Six movies by Studio Ghibli will screen for free on November 16 and 17 to celebrate the studio's co-founder Hayao Miyazaki being a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award this year.
Miyazaki is receiving the award "for his lifelong commitment to the use of art, specifically animation, to illuminate the human condition, especially lauding his devotion to children as the torchbearers of the imagination, to whom he has passed the light and spark of his own."
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As such, Studio Ghibli's local partner mm2 Entertainment, the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, and The Japan Foundation, Manila will screen six Miyazaki movies in Mandaluyong's Shangri-la Plaza Red Carpet Cinema for free in a mini-film festival called "The Studio Ghibli Weekend."
The six films screening at "The Studio Ghibli Weekend" are "Spirited Away," "My Neighbor Totoro," "Howl’s Moving Castle," "Ponyo," "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind," and "Castle in the Sky."
"Spirited Away," the event's opening film, was the first hand-drawn, Japanese anime, and non-English-language movie to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature and held the record for the highest-grossing Japanese film for 19 years since its 2001 release.
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"These works display a deep understanding of the human condition, engaging their viewers to reflect on their own situation and exercise their humanity," said the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation.
The foundation added that Miyazaki "tackles complicated issues, using his art to make them comprehensible to children, whether it be about protecting the environment, advocating for peace, or championing the rights and roles of women in society."
Admission to the screening is free but will follow a "first-come, first-served" rule, with limited seats subject to availability. Tickets to screenings will be available beginning November 4 at noon.
Tickets will be deemed invalid if guests fail to enter the theater within 10 minutes after screenings start. Walk-in guests will be allowed to occupy unaccommodated seats.
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