The Qatsi Trilogy

Out of balance, in transformation and at war... so is life today and so is it beautifully painted in the Qatsi Trilogy, the informal name given to three films produced by Godfrey Reggio and scored by Philip Glass. The films consisting mostly of slow motion and time-lapse photography contain no narration and relies heavily on music to set the film's tone. Legendary Philip Glass and Ensemble have toured with the film, playing music live in front of the film screen for the first chapter called Koyaanisqatsi (1983), meaning Life out of balance in Hopi dialect.

This first chapter depicting different aspects of man and technology in the modern life of industrial countries, is the best known of the trilogy and is considered a cult film. The second chapter: Powaqqatsi (1988) focuses more on the conflict in third world countries between traditional ways of life and the new ways of life introduced with industrialization. Powaqqatsi is a Hopi word meaning "parasitic way of life" or "life in transition". In this second film, the score featuring children's voices from South America and Africa increase the impact of the film's message and images.

The final chapter of the trilogy, Naqoyqatsi: Life as war (2002) focuses on technology and the perceived lack of natural environments in industrialized society. In contrast to the first two parts, the majority of this film was created not by filming in the real world, but by using archive footage and stock images, manipulated and processed digitally on non-linear editing workstations and intercut with specially-produced CGI that the director described as "virtual cinema."

These widely acclaimed and awarded films have the power to communicate to you from the realm beyond words. Cant' be labelled, can't be put in a box; the Qatsi trilogy is an intimate journey that takes your mind and soul from the places beyond things, rock and sky, to the things we have girded ourselves in, cities. It is a wordless, feeling thing that even the translation from Hopi dialect can't express. The concept behind "koy.aa.nis.qat.si" are 1) crazy life 2) life out of balance 3) life disintegrating 4) life in turmoil 5) a way of life that calls for another way of living... all existing in one word.

There is perhaps no higher praise for a film than saying it changed the way you think. Once you see the Qatsi Trilogy, they will deserve that praise to you.

Find more info about the QATSI Trilogy
Check this online database: Spirit of Baraka
Learn more about the Hopi language

Niko-nography

No only does he make great pictures, he also writes! Funny pamphlets, sarcastic comments about petty matters of life, or inspired poetry: the style can be crude or sophisticated, the thought is always clever with a touch (if not a truckload sometimes) of irony. His verve, mostly in French, has a sense of musicality that makes it almost jazzy. The man could actually be a literary offspring of Coltrane and Pierre Desproges. When Niko Biro puts his camera down, he delivers diatribes that will make you burst out laughing or simply smile. But it will always let you think about life in a different way...

Check out his frequent contributions to BE*MOT at the LYRICS page.
And check out his photographs at www.nikobiro.com

Renaissance

Already acclaimed by the critics in France, Renaissance will be realeased in America in Sept this year with much expectations from comics and animation fans. With astonishing designs and a thriller script, Renaissance succeeds to breed film noir genre with sci-fi flick in a pure artistic performance; proving that, when it comes to daring filmmaking, French talents are always cutting edge.
Behind the scenes, a young team composed of gifted director Christian Volkman (Mazz 1998), movie producer Aton Soumache (Nordeste 2005) and master animator Marc Miance (Project BW 1998) combined their talents to build this adventurous new film, following the footsteps of pioneers such as Emile Cohl, Moebius and Jordowsky.
Don't get fooled by the mix reviews, the Sin City look or the low box-office performance compared to any Pixar production; Renaissance is and for a long time will be a landmark in European-made animation movies.

Watch the previews of Renaissance in French or in English now!

Six years faster

It is rare to find something worth watching on YouTube. Thanks to Noah for having put together this 6 year long project into a great clip. And if you ever want to broadcast yourself and are (still) not aware: you can do it at You Tube...

Stardown

Think Meshel N'degeocello meets Herbie Hancock and Buckshot LeFonque in the twilight zone of modern jazz. A perfect mix of hip-hop, DJ scratchs, brassy funky grooves and drums programming. The sound is super dynamic, pure and it's a pleasure to listen to these talented young musicians, notably Guillaume Poncelet (also playing with No Jazz) and Julien Birot who produced this little sonic gem. World famous jazzmen like Flavio Boltro and Didier Lockwood joined the 13 musicians band and contributed to this very energetic exploration of the future sound of jazz.

Listen to samples of Electro Deluxe's Stardown at SUCH Production.

Super Zero

What happens when a generation of American brought up with Comic books as literary references acquires substantial purchase power? Multimillion dollar blockbusters and TV shows are designed to promote the senseless consumption of merchandising originated from their childhood heroes. After the return of Superman on screens, the lastest product of reality TV, called "Who wants to be a superhero?", demonstrates that new pathetic ways can be explored in the ever downgrading western popular media culture. Based on the "last man standing" principle of trials and elimination, the show is hosted by legendary comic-book creator Stan Lee and features 11 people who invented their own character and costume. Their goal is to prove that they have what it takes to be a superhero...

Expectedly politically correct, the show tends to demonstrate that, in addition to having cool super powers, the true American hero is all about courage, integrity, self-sacrifice, compassion, and resourcefulness. It is not evident that these are main characteristics of Fat Momma nor CellPhone Girl... but let's not be pessimistic. After all, the modern superhero who truely represents America today could effectively be a fat afro-american lady hooked on her cellphone, a bit obnoxious but with a big heart, not much education and whose only genuine ambition in life is to eat all she can in donuts and win a reality TV show contest...

Where was Big Momma during Katrina events? Oh, I forgot, superheroes are fictional; in times of disaster people can only rely on themselves and their government. Unfortunately the White House is currently run by Super Zeros...

Have a look and a laugh at Who wants to be a super hero?