Desolation Center

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

The Q&A at 7:30pm on Wed Feb 26 with director Stuart Swezey, Jenn Pelly (editor, Pitchfork), Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth), and Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth, Thurston Moore Group) will be moderated by Paul Rachman (director American Hardcore; co-founder Slamdance Festival).


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 inspired 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. 


“Coachella, Burning Man, Lightning in a Bottle all owe a debt to Desolation Center, the punk godfather event that kicked off festival culture.” – John Law, co-founder, Burning Man Festival


Best of Music 2019 – Artforum; Smithsonian Year of Music – Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum


Audience Award, Best Doc – SF Indie Fest; Audience Award; Best Doc – Chicago Underground Film Festival; Best Editing – Nevada City Film Festival


Official selection: CPH:DOX; Sheffield Doc/Fest; Slamdance; IndieLisboa; Dokufest; Big Sky Documentary Festival


  • Country USA
  • Running Time 94 minutes
  • Distributor TBD
  • Director Stuart Swezey
  • Writer Stuart Swezey, Tyler Hubby
  • Producer Stuart Swezey, Mariska Leyssius
  • Editor Tyler Hubby
  • Cinematographer Jeremy Royce, Sandra Valde-Hansen
  • Accessibility Assistive Listening, T-Coil

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.