The Desert of Forbidden Art (2010)

Risking being denounced as an 'enemy of the people,' Igor Savitsky rescues 40,000 forbidden fellow artists' works and creates in a far desert of Soviet Uzbekistan a museum now worth millions.

Directors:

Tchavdar Georgiev, Amanda Pope

Writers:

Tchavdar Georgiev, Amanda Pope

Stars:

Edward Asner, Sally Field, Ben Kingsley

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Edward Asner	...	(voice)
Sally Field	...	(voice)
Ben Kingsley	...	(voice)

Storyline

The Desert of Forbidden Art is a sweeping look at decades of Soviet repression of the arts and Igor Savitsky's one man campaign to rescue 40,000 works of banned politically volatile artists. In complete defiance of the regime, he creates in a remote desert of Uzbekistan one of the most important collections of Russian art.

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Genres:

Documentary | Adventure | Biography | Drama | History | War

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Russia USA Uzbekistan

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

11 March 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

I erimos tis apagorevmenis tehnis

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

The Patron Saint of Curators

In a remote region of a remote Soviet republic there once lived Igor Savitsky, a museum curator. If his profession had saints he would be among the most revered. In his half century career he filled his museum with art that was often (literally) on the verge of disappearing onto the dust heap of history. Not only did he acquire these works of art; he paid for them, with state allocated funds. A true "holy fool" for art, he relentlessly sought pieces for his museum up to the time of his death, with almost no government interference. Savitsky's story is enough, but the film also examines the lives and work of some of the artists who owed their artistic existence and legacy to this amazing man. It is a well structured and remarkably apolitical documentary, utilizing some of the great living narrators in contemporary English language film. The love for art has rarely been so well represented in a documentary, not to mention that the actual works of art are absolutely stunning.