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In 1975, Godfrey Reggio, a man who had spent 14 years as a member of a teaching religious order and devoted his life to community organization, latched onto an idea for a film that would create an entirely new motion picture style. His idea was to grab images from real life - emotional, raw, honest images - and present them in a non-verbal, non-linear fashion, forging a kind of concert cinema. Seven years later, Reggio's first film, "Koyaanisqatsi" was released to critical acclaim. The film's Hopi-language title translates roughly as "Life Out of Balance," and this was Reggio's simple but searing theme as the film unveiled a vision of an urban society moving at a frenetic pace, detached from the natural environment and overwhelmed by technology. In images at once stark and beautiful, assaulting and hypnotizing, the film worked as a kind of visual aperitif to conversations that could last for days or weeks. During filmmaking, Reggio had invited the daring experimental composer Philip Glass to create a score for "Koyaanisqatsi" that was also to have a great influence on the film's reception -- and to spark a continuing collaboration between the two artists. Glass became an integral part of the film's creation, sitting in on editing sessions to help meld his trademark syncopated rhythms and rapid arpeggios to the images seamlessly. The film won passionate fans around the world, including Francis Ford Coppola, who lent his name to the film as a presenter. In the 1980s, "Koyaanisqatsi" joined "A Clockwork Orange" and "Eraserhead" at the top of rentals on U.S. college campuses. When broadcast on PBS' "Great Performances" it drew the second-highest over-night rating in the history of the series. The film is also part of the permanent collections of 7 international art institutions including The National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, The Museum of Modern Art and the British Film Institute. The artistic influence of Reggio's style has also been seen extensively in music videos, motion picture cinematography and effects and the IMAX film phenomenon. Fellow filmmaker George Lucas joined Francis Ford Coppola in presenting the second film in the "Qatsi" series: "Powaqqatsi," which translates to "Life in Transformation." For this new film, Reggio chose to go out into the world, into parts of developing nations rarely seen on screen in any format, and capture the impact of technological progress on native cultures. Over six months, he and his crew journeyed to twelve countries, including India, Egypt, Brazil, Peru, Kenya, Nepal and Nigeria, capturing ordinary people at work and play and revealing their complicated relationship with such new additions to their lives as cars and high-rises. The film drew a wide-range of critical and even political responses - attesting to its ability to touch audiences strongly. In Europe, the film received the 1988 Leonardo de Vinci Award for Best Film and Best Musical Score. Since their initial release, "Koyaanisqatsi" and "Powaqqatsi" have been in theatrical release in over 60 countries, televised and on home video in over 30 countries, invited to over 70 worldwide film festivals and performed live with the Philip Glass Ensemble. The films have been seen by over 35 million people worldwide.
Each of the "Qatsi" films have utilized their own unique style: "Koyaanisqatsi" used time-lapse photography to bend the mind around its images, while "Powaqqatsi" turned to slow motion to focus on the visceral details of native life. With NAQOYQATSI the series again enters new visual territory, delving into images of advanced technology and digital manipulation with what Godfrey Reggio terms a "re-animated look." Unlike the previous two films, NAQOYQATSI features little location work, but instead uses a method described by Godfrey Reggio as "image as location."
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