Desolation Center

Desolation Center

Stuart Swezey / 2018 / US / 94min / documentary / English / Chinese subtitles

Asia Premiere

“Hundreds of Punks hit the desert. The modern music festival was born.” –– The New York Times

“A fascinating glimpse at the emergence of a phenomenon.” — The Hollywood Reporter

“A series of important but overlooked shows – nothing like it has been attempted since.” – Rolling Stone

“The magic of the shows is that . . .they were raw, they were real, and, most importantly, they were completely original” – VICE

Desolation Center is the previously untold story of a series of early 80s guerrilla music and art performance happenings in Southern California that are recognized to have paved the way for Burning Man, Lollapalooza and Coachella, collective experiences that have become key elements of popular culture in the 21st century. The feature documentary splices interviews and rare performance footage of Sonic Youth, Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Swans, Redd Kross, Einstürzende Neubauten, Survival Research Laboratories, Savage Republic and more, documenting a time when pushing the boundaries of music, art, and performance felt almost like an unspoken obligation.

Directed by Stuart Swezey, the creator and principal organizer of these unique events, Desolation Center demonstrates how the risky, and at times even reckless, actions of a few outsiders can unintentionally lead to seismic cultural shifts. Combining Swezey’s exclusive access to never-before-seen archival video, live audio recordings, and stills woven together with new cinematically shot interviews, verité footage and animated sequences, Desolation Center captures the spirit of the turbulent times from which these events emerged.

電影播放時間 Screening Times:
5/24 (Fri/五) 20:00
5/27 (Mon/一) 21:45

播放地點 Screening Location
真善美戲院 WONDERFUL THEATER
7F #116 Hanzhong St, Wanhua District, Taipei
台北市萬華區漢中街116號7樓