Films from NHK World

 

Living Ninja Legend – Masaaki Hatsumi (45 min; dvd; English)

Ninjas are an enduring, iconic figures of Japan. Active about 500 years ago during the country’s Warring States period, and thought to be long gone, however centuries later one ninja is still with us. 84-year-old Masaaki Hatsumi is a successor of the Togakure school and teaches a supreme form of self – defense to more than 100,000 students around the world. What is the essence of this astonishing art? The film investigates the hidden power of this ninja master

 

At 19:00

Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki (75 min; dvd; English)

The Academy Award-winning animated film director shocked the world when he announced his retirement at age 72. But his creative impulse never faded and following a meeting with a group of young animators which specialize in computer graphics, Miyazaki decides to make a short film using CGI to explore new expressive possibilities. The film documents the tremendous struggle that unfolds behind the scenes as Miyazaki, inspired by the new medium, wrestles with CGI for the first time

 

(Collaboration: Embassy of Japan; and NHK World)