PÖFF: Sounds of the Desert

PÖFF30 | Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival | 6-22 november 2026 | Cinema Artis

Hypnotic, ethereal, and seductive, Lithuanian visual artist Emilija Škarnulytė’s film invites you to visit the desert on a mesmerizing musical trip. A visual odyssey of Sun Ra concepts through their followers – Marshall Allen and Abshalom Ben Shlomo. The film follows Sun Ra Arkestra band members on a journey across the desert, a promised land where Sun Ra once forged his identity. Navigating an astro-galactic world of sound, they find a reason to fight racism, injustice, and the vanity of the modern world, through the inner wisdom of music and sound. It’s a story of infinite peace in a troubled world. A utopian planet where Sun Ra and his prophets celebrate the divine wealth of their spirits The intergalactic sounds of the Sun Ra Arkestra, one of jazz’s longest-running and most influential ensembles, could bring you anywhere, as they do in this film. Emilija Škarnulytė’s special vision joins its persistent rhythm and amplifies it, taking us beyond this world: from mid-century Chicago to open sand dunes, “Sounds of the Desert” explores landscape, cosmic spirituality, and the many layers of our inner self. A joyful sonic meditation.

Javier Garcia Puerto