Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

## Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind *Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind* (*Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa*) is the film that launched Hayao Miyazaki's career as a standalone director — a visionary environmental epic that predates Studio Ghibli itself. In a post-apocalyptic world overrun by the Toxic Jungle — a sea of poisonous plants and giant insects — Princess Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind possesses a unique gift for understanding the giant insect species called Ohm. When war breaks out between the kingdoms of Tolmekia and Pejite, threatening to unleash the Ohm in catastrophic numbers, Nausicaa must find a path to peace. The film's ecological message — that nature is not humanity's enemy but its mirror — was revolutionary in 1984 and remains prescient today.