OFFICIAL: Hayao Miyazaki’s ‘The Boy and the Heron’ to Open TIFF 2023

This past weekend, Eric Kohn’s IndieWire writeup hinted at a Miyazaki opening for TIFF 2023. It was much-welcomed news, but all we needed was a confirmation from the fest itself.

Well, it’s now been confirmed. Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” will screen on opening night at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival.

Toronto has pulled the rug under Venice and nabbed the Miyazaki away from them. No word yet on whether the elusive and press-shy, 82-year-old, Miyazaki will make the trek to Canada for the premiere. His cast of voice actors certainly can show up, they’re not SAG, so can Studio Ghibli president Toshio Suzuki.

Miyazaki’s latest film is said to be a slice of life with spiritual themes added in for good measure. In Japan, it's been well-received, but I did read about a few people being disappointed by it. Supposedly, it’s a surreal and dreamy film, which led to a slew of intriguing comparisons, such as “Inception” and it even feeling like a David Lynch film.

Here’s TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey, who travelled to Tokyo in July to screen the film, describing Miyazaki’s latest:

If this has to be his final statement on screen, I think it’s a perfect one. It’s very much an adult vision of life, very much about loss and how we deal with that. It just felt like this is a movie from a master filmmaker […] I was just floored by the film. His films are transportive and full of such incredible fantasy. This film just hit me harder for some reason. I don’t want to spoil anything for people who will discover it, but it starts in one way and goes somewhere else entirely. It’s the full Miyazaki vision […] “It’s a great film and hope it gets all the attention it deserves in terms of Best Animated Feature. But in a perfect world, I think it’s also a Best Picture contender, and I hope people see that.

There is currently no North American or European release date for “The Boy and the Heron.” Stateside it is being distributed by GKids. An October/November release seems to be the way to go for this one, especially if it wants to contend for the Animated Film Oscar.

Now, I don’t feel so bad saving travel time and opting to attend TIFF instead of Venice. Some of the titles going to Toronto, and not Venice, include “Saltburn,” “The Holdovers” “The Royal Hotel” and “The Boy and the Heron.”