Miyazaki is a Japanese director, screenwriter, animator and producer. At the age of twenty-two, he started to work as an animator in the Toei Douga studio. By the mid 1970s, he changed several studios and worked on many different projects. In 1978, he directed his first TV series
Mirai shônen Konan. He worked on the TV series
Rupan sansei (Lupin III, 1971-1971) and his first feature animated film
Rupan sansei: Kariosutoro no shiro (Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro, 1979), as well as its sequel
Rupan sansei: Part II (1977). His second animated film, based on his own manga,
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Kaze no tani no Naushika, 1984), achieved great success. He then founded his animation studio
Studio Ghibli / Sutajio Jiburi. His films
Princess Mononoke (Mononoke-hime, 1997) achieved even greater success and won the award of the Japanese Film Academy in 1998 for Best Film. His other successful films include
Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi, 2001) that won an Oscar as Best Feature Animated Film in 2003 and
Howl's Moving Castle (Hauru no ugoku shiro, 2004), nominated in the same category. His last film is
Gake no ue no Ponyo (Ponyo on the Cliff, 2008), and his earlier important works include
Tenkű no shiro Rapyuta (Castle in the Sky, 1986),
Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbour Totoro, 1988),
Majo no takkyűbin (Kiki's Delivery Service, 1989) and
Kurenai no buta (Porco Rosso, 1992).