A film by Stuart Swezey
Music Documentary – 93 Minutes – USA 2018
It was pure destruction and pure creativity. In the 1980s, the outsider initiative Desolation Center was behind the anarchistic ‘desert shows’ in south-eastern California, which became the trailblazer for festivals such as Burning Man, Lollapalooza and Coachella. A collective experiment and rebellion in the middle of the desert with just 100 young participants, headed by the merely 20-year-old organizer (and director of the film) Stuart Swezey.
With Sonic Youth, Einstürzende Neubauten, Meat Puppets and The Minutemen on the set list, we are at the very heart of the chaotic project, as the 80s punk and industrial elite made the earth tremble in the Mojave Desert. Under a dark starry night in the golden, parched desert and with rattlesnakes rattling in the sand. And with performances that were so powerful, that they have echoed far into today’s underground and festival culture.
