Director Scott Hicks demonstrated his own knack for popularizing classical music in his 1996 film Shine about the pianist David Helfgott. In GLASS: a portrait of Philip in twelve parts, Hicks traces an eventful year in Glass’s life, as he stages the opera Waiting for the Barbarians, writes his eighth symphony, takes his annual ride on the Cyclone roller coaster, scores several films, travels to three continents, and maintains a family with his fourth wife, Holly.

Allowed unprecedented access to Glass’ working process, family life, spiritual teachers and long time collaborators, Hicks gives us a unique glimpse behind the curtain into the life of a surprising and complex man. We discover how Glass draws upon the East and the West, the spiritual and the earthy, the serious and the playful. On one day, he reminisces with Ravi Shankar; on another, he talks shop with Woody Allen. Glass’s tremendous contribution to film is illuminated through interviews with Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line), Godfrey Reggio (Koyaanisqatsi) and Martin Scorsese (Kundun).

What distinguishes the film from other documentary portraits is the delicate intimacy achieved by Hicks, who operates the camera himself. GLASS: a portrait of Philip in twelve parts is a remarkable mosaic portrait of one of the greatest - and at times controversial - artists of this or any era.