Festivals - Gerardmer 2021 : Aya and the witch in the special session section

By Mulder, 19 january 2021

Aya and the Witch (Earwig and the Witch) is a Japanese animated film produced by Studio Ghibli and directed by Gor? Miyazaki, based on the novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones. The original cast includes Shinobu Terajima, Etsushi Toyokawa, Gaku Hamada and Kokoro Hirasawa. It premiered on NHK General TV on December 30, 2020.

After graduating in forestry science from Shinshu University School of Agriculture, Gor? Miyazaki is involved in planning and design of parks and urban forestry projects. He began designing the Ghibli Museum in Japan in 1998 and was its general manager from 2001 to 2005. In 2006, he began directing Studio Ghibli with the animated feature film Les Contes de Terremer. In 2014, he directed the Emmy Award-winning animated series Ronja, daughter of brigands. Aya and the Witch is his third animated feature film.

Synopsis :
Aya grew up in a cozy orphanage since she was a baby and doesn't know that her mother had magical powers. Loved and pampered, the 10-year-old girl has never wanted to leave her cocoon and her dear friend Custard. Mischievous, cunning, she leads her little world by the tip of her nose! When a strange couple comes to adopt her, Aya rebels and follows her new family backwards... But what can this mysterious Mandrake and this disturbing Bella Yaga be hiding? To the rhythm of the enchantments, an extraordinary adventure awaits the adorable shameless girl... because her alleged parents are none other than wizards!

Earwig and the Witch
Directed by Gor? Miyazaki
Produced by Toshio Suzuki
Screenplay by Keiko Niwa, Emi Gunji
Based on Earwig and the Witch by Diana Wynne Jones
Voices of Shinobu Terajima, Etsushi Toyokawa, Gaku Hamada, Kokoro Hirasawa
Music by Satoshi Takebe
Production company : Studio Ghibli
Original network: NHK General TV
Distributed by Wild Bunch (France)
Release date: December 30, 2020
Running time: 82 minutes

(Source: press release)