How to academy: Werner Herzog in conversation with Paul Holdengräber

German film director, producer, and writer Werner Herzog will be joining Paul Holdengräber (founder and director of LIVE from The New York Public Library) in conversation at the Methodist Public Hall in Westminster, on Friday the 16th of January 2015. 
A serious, passionate director with an intense and truthful eye, Werner Herzog's influence on contemporary cinema has been a profound one. François Truffaut once referred to Herzog as ‘the most important film director alive’ – though Truffaut's assessment is somewhat hyperbolic, casting an eye across the 72-year-old director's prolific filmography, it's clear that Herzog isn't a man to be underestimated. 
Born in Munich in 1942, Herzog was raised in a remote Bavarian mountain village, having never seen films or television as a child, and making his very first phone call at the age of 17. A truly uncompromising figure, Herzog rose to prominence with the 1970 film Even Dwarfs Started Small – a film so dangerous that one cast member caught fire, and leading Herzog to promise his crew that he would jump into a cactus patch if production concluded with no more than two injuries on set. This condition fulfilled Herzog, true to his word, dived into the cactus patch. ‘Getting out,’ he said later, ‘was a lot more difficult than jumping in.’
Herzog has made over 60 films, of which Grizzly Man, Fitzcarraldo, Woyzeck, Aguirre, The Wrath of God and Cave of Forgotten Dreams are some of the best known, and his feats are unlike any other. Feverish, compassionate, insightful, and beautifully humanist, his films have a huge variety of subject matter but retain his distinctive directorial style and reflect a clear passion for his art. His 1984 documentary The Dark Glow of the Mountains is an intensely psychological exploration of the mentality of freestyle mountaineer Reinold Messner, as he goes on a single expedition across both Gasherbrum peaks in one trip. The film attempted to unravel the the complexities of the extreme explorer's motivations and desires, and gained for Herzog a rapt reception. 
In recent years, Herzog has become increasingly interested in his documentary work, focusing his lens and his unique mind on the natural world and man’s relationship with it, but he'll nonetheless be ever remembered for his startling fictional portrayals of megalomania, spiritual hunger and the complex nature of innocence.
Herzog's past behaviour includes bizarre activities like cooking and eating his shoe as the result of a lost bet (the shoe was boiled with garlic, herbs and stock for five hours, filmed by Les Blank, and made into documentary Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe). Other examples of Herzog's extreme eccentricity includes his threatening to shoot actor Klaus Kinski (and himself) during the filming of Aguirre, or arranging for a 320-ton ship to be hauled over a mountain top for Fitzcarraldo, in order to achieve a realistic depiction of the obsession, determination and madness of his lead character.
The talk, entitled Guidance for the Perplexed after a recent publication on Herzog's work, published by Faber and Faber, will be an exciting opportunity for fans of Herzog's work to gain an insight into the mind of this fascinating figure.
Be aware, however, that the event is selling out fast with only balcony tickets remaining. If, therefore, you're hoping to get up close and personal with the man himself, this may not be your chance.