Cinema Society

THE DESERT OF FORBIDDEN ART

Average
Rating

3

Tuesday, January 25, 2011, Reading Cinemas Town Square 14 Theatre

TUESDAY, JANUARY 25

5:00PM or 7:30pm (You Choose!)

THE DESERT OF FORBIDDEN ART

Discussion will follow screenings

Reading Cinemas Town Square 14 Theatre

Best Documentary, Palm Beach Film Festival

THE DESERT OF FORBIDDEN ART

During the reign of the Soviet Union, a small group of artists remained true to their vision despite threats of torture, imprisonment and even death. Igor Savitsky, recognizing the brilliance of these courageous men, cajoled money out of the same authorities who were banning the paintings and amassed an amazing collection of 40,000 Russian modern art pieces. With nowhere to display his collection, he convinced a desert outpost in Uzbekistan to build a museum to house the masterpieces, now worth millions.

Directors Tchavdar Georgiev and Amanda Pope’s The Desert of Forbidden Art, however, is more than a testament to the desire and will of a man with a dream. With the help of the voices of Sir Ben Kingsley, Sally Field and Ed Asner, a visually stunning saga unfolds, depicting a time when fear and oppression tried to silence artists whose remarkable works remain as endangered today as when they were created.

Not Rated.

RUNNING TIME: 80 MINUTES

PLEASE NOTE: This is our first “official” event at the Reading Cinemas Town Square 14 Theatre, located at 4665 Clairemont Drive in Clairemont.

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27-Jan-11: Georgi - Rating: 1

Boring. And having grown up in the art world (check out my father Aaron Bohrod via Google) I was looking forward to this movie. All the facts were there, but why should we care. There was no emotion. Why was the collector driven to collect? Why did some artist's risk their lives to paint their hearts out? What happened to them? (Besides having their heads blown off or freezing in a Gulag). There was so much expressed in their pieces of work, but none in the cold telling of the story which felt as desolate of passion as the Russian desert or tundra. The quality of the art work was exceptional, as were the vibrant colors the artists incorporated in their paintings. But the movie itself was lifeless. Unfortunately the highlight of the evening was the excellent Italian restaurant next door. That in and of itself was worth the trip.

26-Jan-11: judy s - Rating: 2

The theater seats could use a good cleaning.

I fell asleep. Too slow with bumpy camera work. Social realism is a school of painting that began in Russia. One of the few movements to have origins there. That school was promoting the proletariate, probably to get the railroads built. American artists working in this field were to name a few, Ben Shahn, Jacob Lawrence, the Soyer brothers and photographer Dorothea Lange.

To this day, I have not seen a respect for the contemporary Russian artists in Russia. Or, for that matter, artists in general in the rest of the world. Recently, in Moscow, I have seen wonderfully talented artists exhibiting in awful spaces and not finding a home for their works.

It does not surprise me that such a body of work never truly got sung. It just disappoints me.

26-Jan-11: Mroe - Rating: 4

I am always so appreciated to good documentaries for opening my eyes to a subject I might other wise never have known about. I am fascinated by the talents of the artists in the film that really did suffer for their art. Though I did have more questions....Were they all self taught or did they attend schools etc.? and who visited this museum in Nukus? This film reminds me how important a role paintings once had in informing and teaching people when now we really just rely on TV/News/Internet to form our ever changing minds about politics, issues and life.

26-Jan-11: Angie - Rating: 5

This was a fantastic film reminding me very much of the Art of the Steal with good guys/bad guys, fabulous art collections stored under sub prime conditions with the like danger of looting the collections by sinister forces.

The Cinema Society and film opens our eyes and exposes us to ideas, issues and aspects of life we could never experience in our own worlds.

Thank you so much.

26-Jan-11: Danielle - Rating: 4

What an interesting story, I have recommended it to a friend that is an avid art collector. Will this documentary be released commercially?

26-Jan-11: RichG - Rating: 2

The work it took to put this little piece together was impressive. The use of archival footage interspliced with the interviews and views of the museum was seamless. Unfortunately the evening was more like a PBS special than a Cinema Society "adventure."

I do LOVE our new "home."