The Desert of Forbidden Art

Canada

• NR
• 2011-03-18
• ▪

  History,

  Documentary
• ▪ 1h-20m

no tagline

Overview

How does art survive in a time of oppression? During the Soviet rule artists who stay true to their vision are executed, sent to mental hospitals or Gulags. Their plight inspires young Igor Savitsky. He pretends to buy state-approved art but instead daringly rescues 40,000 forbidden fellow artist's works and creates a museum in the desert of Uzbekistan, far from the watchful eyes of the KGB. Though a penniless artist himself, he cajoles the cash to pay for the art from the same authorities who are banning it. Savitsky amasses an eclectic mix of Russian Avant-Garde art. But his greatest discovery is an unknown school of artists who settle in Uzbekistan after the Russian revolution of 1917, encountering a unique Islamic culture, as exotic to them as Tahiti was for Gauguin. They develop a startlingly original style, fusing European modernism with centuries-old Eastern traditions.

• Amanda PopeDirector

  Tchavdar GeorgievDirector

  Gennadi BalitskiCinematography

  Miriam CutlerMusic

  Alexandr DolginCinematography

  Amanda PopeProducer