Feature Program
Desert of Forbidden Art
Directed by: Amanda Pope and Tchavdar Georgiev.
“Stranger than fiction several times over…a remarkable documentary.” – Kenneth Turan, LA Times
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 artists’ 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.
(80 minutes)
Special Jury Award: Mendocino Film Festival, Audience Award, Beijing International Film Festival; Cine Golden Eagle Award; Best Documentery, Palm Beach International Film Festival
“Stranger than fiction several times over…a remarkable documentary.” – Kenneth Turan, LA TimesHow 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 artists’ 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.
(80 minutes)
Special Jury Award: Mendocino Film Festival, Audience Award, Beijing International Film Festival; Cine Golden Eagle Award; Best Documentery, Palm Beach International Film Festival
This program is made possible by the generous
support of Kemgas.
2011 Mendocino Film Festival