It’s summer in most of Asia, which means heat, sweaty, hot, shirt sticking to you no relief in sight mold literally growing on you dampness. Rather than another boring “How To Beat the Heat” post, which never really work, how about just distracting that part of your brain always reminding you of the barometer reading with some classics from the closet? Don’t have the money to travel the world? Why not take a trip of the mind? Put down the magic mushrooms and let HESO come up with the perfect …

A Participant Media presentation, in association with River Road Entertainment. Produced by Robert Kenner, Elise Pearlstein. Executive producers: William Pohlad, Robin Schorr, Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann. Co-producers: Eric Schlosser, Richard Pearce, Melissa Robledo. Directed by Robert Kenner.
With: Eric Schlosser, Michael Pollan, Joel Salatin.
People often ask me if it is due to religious reasons that I don’t eat meat. They suggest I could be taking some kind of social protest stance due to inhumane treatment of animals. Do I want to destroy capitalism? It’s even been alleged that I may be …

A Telecino Cinema (Spain)/Dynamo Capital (Colombia) production in association with Tequila Gang (Mexico). Produced by Álvaro Augustin, Rodrigo Guerrero, Eneko Lizarraga, Bertha Navarro, Guillermo del Toro. Directed, written by Sebastián Cordero, based on the novel by Sergio Bizzio.
With: Martina García, Gustavo Sánchez Parra, Concha Velasco, Xabier Elorriaga, Icíar Bollaín, Àlex Brendemühl.
Orson Welles once said that the only boring story was one whose balance was walked down a highway rather than on a tightrope. He was hinting at the success that often comes as a result of the precarious equilibrium at …

An Oceanic Preservation Society presentation of a Jim Clark production, in association with Diamond Docs and SkyFish Films. Produced by Paula DuPre Pesmen, Fisher Stevens. Executive producer: Jim Clark. Co-producer: Olivia Ahnemann. Directed by Louie Psihoyos. Written by Mark Monroe.
With: Richard O’Barry, Louie Psihoyos, Simon Hutchins, Mandy-Rae Cruickshank, Kirk Krack, David Rastovich, Scott Baker.
This is The Cove’s second time in Japan, and each time it comes into town carrying lots of baggage. The first time through a few years ago, toting their massive amount of production equipment from the U.S. …

An Open Eye Media U.K. production. (International sales: the Works Intl., London.) Produced by Rachel Wexler. Directed by Oliver Hodge.
With: Michael Reynolds.
Mike Reynolds is a true garbage warrior. For more than thirty years he has been pioneering the field of architecture by introducing a new method of self-sustainable building called “Earthship Biotecture.” Before it was cool, responsible or even common knowledge Reynolds was advancing the cause of recycling materials for use in building homes in bold and original ways. Taking old aluminum cans and glass bottles to make walls, packing …

An Alliance Atlantis release (in Canada) of a Sharkwater Prods. presentation of a Diatribe production. (International sales: Cinetic Media, New York.) Produced, directed, written by Rob Stewart. Executive producers, Brian Stewart, Sandra Campbell, Alexandra Stewart.
In his article Infodiction, Malik Robinson talks about orienting response (OR). He says, “The OR is a survival mechanism, shared by all mammals, that alerts us to unusual visual and aural information. Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov was the first to explain how it worked…Ancient behaviors tend to be rigid and indiscriminate, and the OR is no …

A Purple Turtle Films production. (International sales: Purple Turtle, Irvine, Calif.) Produced by Sam Bozzo. Executive producers, Mark Achbar, Si Litvinoff. Directed, written, edited by Sam Bozzo, based on the book “Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of the World’s Water” by Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke.
Blue Gold: World Water Wars asks the questions, “Where does your drinking water come from? Where does your waste water go?
In the documentary by Sam Bozzo based on the 2003 book Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of …

“Whether people be of high or low birth, rich or poor, old or young, enlightened or confused, they are all alike in that they will one day die. It is not that we don’t know that we are going to die, but we grasp at straws. While knowing that we will die someday, we think that all the others will die before us and that we will be the last to go. Death seems a long way off. Is this not shallow thinking? It is worthless and is only a …

HESO contributor James Hadfield reports directly from Roppongi Hills on the 21st installment of the Tokyo International Film Festival

As the following will show, and after repeated attempts at contacting Mr. Hertzfeldt himself, I had to “make up” the following interview, though, that notwithstanding, that doesn’t mean Don didn’t say these things. Hey, me no plagiarizer. Thanks to Rob, for pointing me in the right way. I’ve included the intro questions, which, though now scrapped, still make me chuckle. The “actual” interview, such that it is, follows that.
Don, Let’s pretend like we’re sitting across from one another at a nice dark dive bar in the Valley, sipping, chatting, chuckling …