Powaqqatsi

*Powaqqatsi* — the second part of Godfrey Reggio’s experimental trilogy. The title is a neologism meaning “parasitic way of life” or “life in transformation.” In the film, Reggio attempts to capture the imprint technological progress has left on ancient cultures and their disappearing magnificence. A meditative immersion accompanied by Philip Glass’s stunning score.

Shot between 1985 and 1987, the film focuses on globalization and the fading identities of ancient cultures across the so-called Third World — Asia, India, Africa, the Middle East, and South America. Over the course of six months, Reggio and his crew traveled through 12 countries, including India, Egypt, Brazil, Peru, Kenya, Nepal, and Nigeria, filming ordinary people at work and at rest, observing their relationship with technologies gradually infiltrating traditional ways of life.