SAMSARA (2011) (sequel to BARAKA, 1992) premiered this past week at the 27th SBIFF. Stay tuned for a one on one interview with producer Mark Magidson coming soon!

Twenty years ago a film was released that changed the way people viewed cinema because its filmmakers dared to go where no other film has ever been, and none since...

...BARAKA (1992), directed by cinematographer Ron Fricke and produced by Mark Magidson, does everything against the rules in textbook filmmaking- it uses no stars, no script and no dialogue!!! - yet in so doing, BARAKA made history with its transcendent cinematic language. The point of this film was made loud and clear in its humility... The movie star here is the world itself, from virginal indigenous nature to technology rising to great heights and then the great inevitable fall of all...the eternal good and evil forces of existence.

This is not a film about anything but life and the address Planet Earth, which forces is to really look at ourselves and each other. This is not just cinema... This is a majestic cathedral of art towering above everything that proceeds it, a triumph in film collaboration from cinematography to direction, the production (filmed at 152 locations in 23 countries) and the music, oh the music... with an unforgettable score by Michael Stearns and featuring music by Lisa Gerrard from Dead Can Dance...

...The meaning of the word 'BARAKA' means 'blessing' in many languages. The film was photographed in the 70mm Todd-AO format.

VIEW TRAILER:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNViNqHmnzM&feature=related

**STAY TUNED for their latest masterpiece (20 years later)- SAMSARA (2011) coming soon!

written by Vanessa McMahon, February 1, 2012.