Spirited Away Wins Top Honors at Berlin

Demonstrating increasing international recognition of the legitimacy of anime as international cinema, Hayao Miyazaki’s Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi was awarded the Golden Bear prize for best film at the recent prestigious Berlin International Film Festival in a tie with the British film Bloody Sunday. Such recognition is akin to a Palme D’ore at Cannes and should go a long way toward boosting the films international distribution potential.

This recognition is only the second time that a Japanese film has won top honors at the Berlin Film Festival. The only other Japanese film to ever be awarded a Golden Bear was Imai Tadashi’s Bushido Zankoku Monogatari back in 1963, which coincidentally also shared its award with another film.

In his reaction to the award, Miyazaki said, “The prize this time serves as a great source of inspiration for people engaging in production of animation in the world.” The director, who did not attend the convention, also told reporters in Tokyo, “I thought the film was a bit too Japanese-like to be appreciated. But I’m interested in the fact that Europeans appreciated it… I’m afraid an animation film is still differentiated from an ordinary picture film, and I don’t like that. That’s why I’m happy that my work was treated as one film.”

Source: Anime News Network, Japan Today, and information provided by Michiko Ito