Powaqqatsi—from the Hopi language, meaning “a life that feeds on other lives”—is the second chapter of the Qatsi trilogy created by Godfrey Reggio and Philip Glass.
Completed in 1988, immediately following Koyaanisqatsi, the film continues Reggio’s reflection on the relationship between humanity, development and global transformation, shifting its focus to the Global South and the tensions between traditional cultures and modernization.
The music is not merely an accompaniment to the images: it supports them, moves through them and transforms them.
The work marks a significant step in Glass’s artistic journey. Alongside the hypnotic, modular structures that define his musical language, the score introduces a broader palette of timbres and rhythms, featuring richer orchestral textures and opening itself to influences drawn from non-Western musical traditions.