Amanda Pope
2021The Desert of Forbidden Art
Amanda Pope, Tchavdar Georgiev
Edward Asner, Sally Field
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.
The Desert of Forbidden Art
The A-Word
Lindsay Ellis
Lindsay Ellis, Aspen Baker
In the fall of 2009, Lindsay Ellis, a 26-year old graduate student, went through the painful process of having an abortion. “The A-Word” follows Ellis as she opens up to her family and organizations from both sides of the debate, in search of healing. This is not a film about the protests and debates wrapped up in religious views and political agenda, but rather a personal journey about one woman’s struggle to shed the stigma attached to the A-word in hopes of starting a dialogue.
The A-Word
