One of Miyazaki’s most enduring classics, Princess Mononoke addresses the concepts of violence and hatred in a way young viewers can understand.
Category Archive: Filmmaker of the Month
Porco Rosso is yet another swashbuckling adventure in the grand tradition of Hayao Miyazaki, a high-flying caper about a flying pig who’s also a sea pirate.
Miyazaki’s animated classic effortlessly blends magical realism with a relatable coming-of-age story about building community.
In 1988, Hayao Miyazaki found a bright, adorable way to explore the freedom and exuberance of childhood, and invites adults to see it anew.
While it doesn’t have the reputation of Miyazaki’s later works, Studio Ghibli’s sophomore film serves as a lovely steampunk primer to the man’s filmography.
Before Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki honed his craft on one of the liveliest anime action-adventures of all time.
For May, The Spool is taking a deep dive into the works of one of Japanese animation’s greatest pioneers.
Kasi Lemmons’ wistful, eerie, criminally underrated directorial debut features complex characters & asks unsettling questions about memory & perspective.
Five years on, Ava DuVernay’s gripping account of the march from Selma to Washington stresses that MLK’s fight is far from over today.
Our exploration of black women directors continues with a look at Gina Prince-Bythewood’s sensitive, layered romantic drama.
A pioneering work of Black Queer Cinema, Cheryl Dunye’s vibrant “Dunye-mentary” reckons with traditional queer narratives and the racism of Old Hollywood.
Maya Angelou’s sole directorial effort Down in the Delta is a powerful and engaging look at a strong-willed family taking control of their destiny.
A look at author Zora Neale Hurston and her lesser known work as an ethnographic filmmaker, studying the daily lives of Black Americans.
Every artist has their muse, but sometimes that relationship grows toxic and strains – with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, that moment appears long passed.
Adapting the Topps trading cards to cackling comic life, Tim Burton! offered a twisted alien invasion alternative to Independence Day.
By channeling Burton’s outsized whimsy into something darker, consistent, and more constrained, Sweeney Todd succeeds in ways his other adaptations fail.
Burton’s dark, misguided adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s novel ages particularly poorly among the rest of his works.