March 29 - Godfrey Reggio

Happy 80th Birthday, Godfrey Reggio! Born today in 1940, this American screenwriter and director of experimental documentary features is a pioneer of a film style that creates poetic images of extraordinary emotional impact for audiences worldwide. 

  

Reggio is prominent in the film world for his socioeconomic Qatsi film trilogy; essays of visual images and sound that chronicle the destructive impact of the modern world on the environment. 

  

The trilogy depicts different aspects of the relationship between humans, nature and technology. 

  

Of the trilogy, he is best known for co-writing, producing and directing the 1982 American experimental documentary film 'Koyaanisqatsi', also known as 'Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance'. 

The best known of the trilogy, 'Koyaanisqatsi' is considered a cult film. However, because of copyright issues, the film was out of print for most of the 1990s. 

  

For 'Koyaanisqatsi', the music was written by American composer and pianist Philip Glass and was shot with hypnotic time-lapse photography by American film director and cinematographer Ron Fricke. 

  

The film consists primarily of slow motion and time-lapse footage of cities and many natural landscapes across the United States. 

The visual tone poem contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of images and music.  

  

Reggio explained the lack of dialogue by stating "it's not for lack of love of the language that these films have no words. It's because, from my point of view, our language is in a state of vast humiliation. It no longer describes the world in which we live." In the Hopi language, the word Koyaanisqatsi means "unbalanced life". 

  

On October 4, 1982, more than five thousand people filled the sold out Radio City Music Hall at the Rockefeller Center in New York, New York. This was to experience the remarkable film event. This was the world premiere of 'Koyaanisqatsi'. 

  

Six years later, Reggio directed the second installment is his Qatsi trilogy. This was the 1988 American music/documentary film 'Powaqqatsi', also known as 'Powaqqatsi: Life in Transformation'. 

For the film, Glass was the only one of whom returned to compose the score. The title of the film is a Hopi neologism coined by Reggio, meaning "parasitic way of life" or "life in transition". 

  

Fourteen years later, Reggio directed the third and final installment in his Qatsi trilogy. This was the 2002 American documentary/music film 'Naqoyqatsi', also known as 'Naqoyqatsi: Life as War'. 

The title of the film is a Hopi word (more correctly written naqö̀yqatsi) meaning "life as war". 

In the film's closing credits, Naqoyqatsi is also translated as "civilized violence" and "a life of killing each other". Glass returned again to compose the score.

In 2000, 'Koyaanisqatsi' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, aesthetically, or historically significant". 

Reggio has been active from 1982–present. 

  

#borntodirect 

@Criterion

@libraryofcongress 

@DocAlliance 
@koyaanisqatsi.movie 

March 29 - Michel Hazanavicius

Happy 53rd Birthday, Michel Hazanavicius! Born today in 1967, this French film editor, screenwriter, producer and film director is best known for his 2011 French black and white comedy-drama romance film 'The Artist'. 

  

Set in the 1920s, actor George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is a bona fide matinee idol with many adoring fans. While working on his latest film, Valentin finds himself falling in love with an ingenue named Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) and, what's more, it seems Peppy feels the same way.  

  

However, Valentin is reluctant to cheat on his wife with the beautiful young actress. The growing popularity of sound in movies (or talkies) further separates the potential lovers, as Valentin's career begins to fade while Peppy's star rises. 

  

The following year, 'The Artist' won five Oscars, including Best Picture at the 84th Academy Awards in late February 2012. It also won Hazanavicius the an Oscar for Best Director. 

  

Prior to 'The Artist', Hazanavicius was also known for directing spy film parodies. 

These included the 2006 French comedy/action spy film 'Le Caire, nid d' espions' ('OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies') as well as the 2009 French comedy/action spy film 'Rio ne répond plus' ('OSS 117: Lost in Rio'). 

  

Hazanavicius is married to French-Argentine actress Bérénice Bejo. They have four children together. 

  

Hazanavicius has been active from 1988–present. 

  

#borntodirect 

@MichelHazanavic 

@guardian 

@Britannica 

@FIAFNY 

March 28 - National Something On A Stick Day

Happy National Something On A Stick Day! Observed each year on March 28, today is a food holiday that lets you use your creative talents. Once you get started, the possibilities are endless. Foods that come on a stick are fun and easy to eat. 

There isn’t much that can’t be put on a stick when talking about food. Soup might be that one exception, though if it were flavorful frozen, we might make an exception. 

From cool summer treats like the Popsicle to frozen food staples like the corn dog, food on a stick is one of the world’s great inventions. Fresh fruit kabobs and skewers of grilled veggies and meat are both summer favorites. 

Street fairs and food trucks have created a variety of recipes made to go on a stick that takes us from breakfast to after-party hunger with flavor combinations that sometimes make us wonder why we haven’t tried that before!   

Whether it is fresh and healthy or breaded and deep-fried, menu choices are broad and plentiful for National Something on a Stick Day. 

HOW TO OBSERVE 

Get inventive and create your own combination. How about grilled pear on a stick? Or perhaps meat and cheese squares or brownie and marshmallows bites? Have a creative breakfast, lunch or dinner and have fun with the day!!  

Families, while this day is primarily a food holiday, the classroom offers a project that’s both creative and inventive. It combines Something on a Stick Day and National Pencil Day together by making a pinwheel. 

Other ways to incorporate this day into your activities include: 

• 
  
  • Master eating with chopsticks. 
• • Serve each meal on a stick. French toast for breakfast? Serve it cut up on toothpicks. Salad for lunch? Slide all the fixings on a skewer. The same goes for supper. Be creative and involve the whole family in the planning. Just don’t serve soup. 
• • Challenge the family to create a name for as many foods on a stick as possible. 

Use #SomethingOnAStickDay to post on social media. 

HISTORY 

The research by National Day Calendar® was unable to find the origin and the creator of National Something On A Stick Day. 

#SomethingOnAstickDay 

@nichecinema