Desert of Forbidden Art

A colleague at work recommended "The Desert of Forbidden Art" after a screening at the MET and gave me the postcard with the listing for its opening Greenwich Village a few weeks later. After watching the preview below I couldn't wait to see the film and kept the postcard on my desk for a few weeks as a reminder. This was my first trip to Village Cinema which is an odd maze of tiny art theater screens crammed into the shell of an old fire station. It was like they had been given a building designed from a few couple of random Tetris blocks and had to fit a screen and seats into each colorful piece.

Anyway, when the time finally came it didn't disappoint. Absolutely stunning! Incredible story and art so beautiful my only reaction was to giggle through most of the movie. It was also fun to stop reading the subtitles after a while and let my memory of Russian take over. They recruited some great actors to read for some of the deceased artists, included Ben Kingsley who narrates for the main subject of the film, but the people they interviewed and the art on the screen absolutely steal the show.

And who knew there was such a gem of a museum in Karalkalpakstan? Who knew there was even a place called Karalkapakstan?. I was just sad that the film wasn't available for so many of my friends and family who would love to see it, but guess what? It is going to be broadcast nationally on the PBS program Independent Lens. Check the listings on the link but I think it is airing on April 5th (I say as if people are reading this). Here is the preview and there are a few clips on the link above.

Watch the full episode. See more Independent Lens.