On March 14, Miyazaki's new work “What Kind of Life Do You Want to Live” was officially announced in mainland China on April 3. Recently, the film won the 96th Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film and was confirmed to be introduced to the mainland. This is another Oscar-winning animation work by Hayao Miyazaki after “Spirited Away,” and it is also the fastest time that Hayao Miyazaki's film has been introduced to the mainland. On the day the film was scheduled in mainland China, it was also announced that the first studio Ghibli story immersive art exhibition in the world will land in Shanghai in April this year. The exhibition period will be from April 12 to October 31, 2024.

“What kind of life do you want to live” is a new film directed by Hayao Miyazaki after 10 years. The film tells the story of a teenager who has lost his mother and a talking heron and embarking on an incredible adventure. Previously, the film received outstanding box office results and a good reputation when it was screened overseas. It not only became the highest-grossing Japanese original animated film in North America, and Studio Ghibli's highest-grossing film in North America, but also won many awards such as Best Animated Film at the 81st Golden Globe Awards, “Top Ten Films of the Year” in 2023, and “Best Animated Film” at the 49th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards.

As Alibaba Pictures (01060) reached a strategic cooperation with Studio Ghibli in January of this year, Studio Ghibli's representative director and producer Toshio Suzuki and Alibaba Pictures President Li Jie announced that they had reached an agreement to sign a cooperation plan for the film, and mainland audiences are also increasingly looking forward to the film. The speedy introduction of the film was undoubtedly a huge surprise for the vast majority of movie fans and viewers.

It is worth mentioning that in addition to animated films, the strategic cooperation between the two sides also includes cooperation plans in various fields such as immersive exhibition development. Authorized by Studio Ghibli and co-hosted by the exhibition production brand “Art Exhibition Hongtu” of Alibaba Pictures platform Damai and co-hosted by the copyright introducer Co., Ltd., the world's first stop will be officially launched in April of this year. This is Studio Ghibli's first time developing and experimenting with an immersive exhibition.

Alibaba Pictures's platform Damai has been deeply involved in the field of live entertainment for many years and has accumulated rich platform resources and performance operation experience. Its exhibition production brand “Art Exhibition Hongtu” is committed to providing specialized services to the art and exhibition industry through planning and investment business for high-end art exhibitions, presenting high-quality works of art to art lovers and consumers, and bringing art closer to more people. The launch of the world's first studio Ghibli immersive art exhibition is not only another in-depth layout of “Art Exhibition Hongtu” in the field of high-quality art exhibition production, but also reflects the unique advantage of Alibaba Pictures in covering the dual business scenarios of film and performance, and developing diverse content through film and theater collaboration.

It is reported that the exhibition will focus on Studio Ghibli's classic animation works. Through the fusion of technology and art, the exhibition will present the entire world of Miyazaki Hayao's animation in an immersive and multi-sensory manner. In addition to Miyazaki's classic animation works such as “Spirited Away,” “My Neighbor Totoro,” “Howl's Moving Castle,” and “Red Pig,” which will be recreated in real life, undisclosed stills from the movie “What kind of life do you want to live” will also be exhibited worldwide for the first time.

Industry insiders said that the introduction of “What kind of life do you want to live” in the mainland and the development and launch of the Ghibli Immersive Art Exhibition will further promote the innovation and integration of artistic presentation forms for animated works, bring new experiences to the audience, and become a friendly link to facilitate outstanding cultural exchanges and mutual appreciation between China and Japan.