This is a phrase from the
Hopi Indian language
meaning "
war life". It is also a film made by
Godfrey Reggio and
Philip Glass, the sequel to
Koyaanisqatsi and
Powaqqatsi and the final film in the
Qatsi trilogy. The theme is something like the destructive effect
technology has on
nature.
Production finished in January 2002 with the help of
Steven Soderbergh, who gave all his personal profits from the making of "
Traffic" to ensure that the movie was made. The film will be released to general audiences in October 2002 by
Miramax.
(Yes, I know I called them the
evil empire in another node but the makers have been working on this film since Christmas 1985 and it never would have been made without
big money.)
The production company, Qatsi Productions, is a very low-profile company, but the technology used to create this movie was really spectacular. 1.5 terabytes of storage, gigabit ethernet, etcetera. Seventy-five percent of the film is reworked stock footage. To find out more about the film, read the 1990 (!) interview in the book "A Critical Cinema 2"
edited by Scott MacDonald.
I am really looking forward to seeing this one at a film festival somewhere in the world real soon now.
Preview screenings were held about June 18, 2002, in NYC.
Check the web for reviews...
In theatres LA/NY Oct 18, 2002, elsewhere in US, Oct 25, 2002.