Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is a beautifully made animated film. It was released in the early 80's in Japan and is acclaimed director Miyazaki's first original film (other than the Lupin the Third Movie). This film really defines his style for later films - that being female heroines who are fierce and sometimes deadly, but feminine; concern for the environment and scorn for war; a touch of whimsicalness and a detailed beautiful style which has given him the title by Westerners of the "Japanese Disney". He also worked on an epic manga for Nausica which is comparable to another Japanese import of the 80's - Akira, which also had an epic manga to go along with it. (For those who don't know, a manga is a type of comic in Japan.) Nausicaa was made available for North American audiences several times. The first was a poorly made alteration called "Warriors of the Wind". The film we will be showing is Nausicaa in its original, subtittled form. Check out the imdb.com and wiki page for Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind for more info:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087544/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nausica%C3%A4_of_the_Valley_of_the_Wind
The director Miyazaki is well known in Japan and has a number of his films translated by Disney for this part of the world. Check out his wiki page:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0594503/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayao_Miyazaki
Of those, Princess Mononoke and Laputa are the closest to this film. In fact, Mononoke was a close pick for being the first film of the fest, but I personally like Nausicaa. Also, Mononoke is one of the more popular of his films, having a major Hollywood debut. The focus of the fest is obscure and old and controversial, and for Western audiences, this film fits the bill. Do check out the imdb.com and wiki page for this movie:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092067/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_in_the_Sky
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119698/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Mononoke
