Founder of Studio Ghibli, director Hayao Miyazaki is responsible for some of contemporary animation’s most beloved films, including My Neighbour Totoro (1988), Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), and of course Spirited Away, a film of rare and rich beauty. The film introduced a whole new swathe of Western audiences to anime, and won a plethora of accolades, including the Berlin Film Festival’s Golden Lion and the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Ten-year-old Chihiro and her parents stumble upon a mysterious fairground in which her parents are transformed into pigs. When the witch who thus cursed her parents steals her name from her, Chihiro is at risk of being trapped in the fairground forever. In order to rescue her family, Chihiro must forge alliances with friendly denizens of the unusual world in which she has found herself while avoiding its dangers.

Notes by Kevin Coyne.