MARIA DUARTE, JAMES WALSH and ANDY HEDGECOCK review The Invite, My Father’s Island, Nirvanna: the Band, the Show, the Movie, and Oh My Goodness!
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Animated response to exploitation
This year Netflix is screening films by acclaimed Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli and it's an opportunity, says LIZ LEE REYNOLDS, to appreciate the progressive social and political perspectives in their uplifting work
LABOUR OF LOVE: Kiki’s Delivery Service
PAUL DONOVAN is chilled by the contemporary resonance of Harper Lee’s coming of age tale amidst racism and white supremacy in this excellent production
GEOFF BOTTOMS recommends the unashamedly light-hearted escapism on offer in this stage version of the 1963 film
Full of mysterious religious references and radical sound design, the Scottish duo’s new offering is candidate for album of the year, suggests SIMON DUFF
MARY CONWAY revels in a powerful reminder that human lives are not defined by physical perfection
PAUL DONOVAN recommends the fine performances in this account of the pre-war meeting between the US president and the British king
TECLYN AROD relishes an intimate celebration of jazz improvisation that mixes local and national musicians
DRAWING on Shinto imagery and traditions, Studio Ghibli has often been heralded for its strong environmental messages. But there's also a notable emphasis on the importance of social cohesion and the role of labour in its films.
Studio founders Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata were both prominent members of the workers' union at Toei Animation Studio before creating Ghibli and Miyazaki was involved in the socialist movement until the 1980s.
These influences permeate his approach to how his films are made and their subject matter. In 1979, he rejected the division of labour, with animators merely a cog in the wheel of mass-production anime and relegated to mundane and repetitive work.
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