Miyazaki at UC Berkeley this July

The legendary Hayao Miyazaki will be at UC Berkeley on July 25th to pick up his Berkeley Japan award. Apparently, he is contractually required by Disney to make a U.S. appearance, so folks, this is definitely an extremely rare opportunity, as you know that it is almost impossible to see Miyazaki outside of Japan. As this blog points out, Miyazaki didn't even show up to the Academy Awards to year "Spirited Away" made a splash. There aren't many details available right now, but watch this space for more updates.

Update (6/3/2009): The Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley has begun selling tickets for Hayao Miyazaki's personal appearance on July 25th. "A Conversation with Hayao Miyazaki, Legendary Filmmaker" will feature the director of the only feature-length Japanese animated film (Spirited Away) to have won an Oscar. The event will begin with an onstage interview, followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience.

Before Miyazaki's scheduled 6:00 p.m. appearance, the Institute of East Asian Studies will host "The Hayao Miyazaki Symposium" on July 25 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The roundtable panel discussion will feature scholars of Japanese popular culture, literature, and film. [Source: ANN]