WASTELAND UTOPIAS
David Sherman, 90 min, video, 2010, USA

This cinematic essay traces the intersection of visionary developer Del Webb (Sun City) and legendary radical psychiatrist/naturalist Wilhelm Reich (Orgone Energy). What on earth could these two possibly have in common? The sunny Sonoran Desert, for one thing; a shadowy CIA operative, for another. Desert landscapes, desert soulscapes, sex, sustainability, Emotional Plague, cloudbusting, cosmic intervention--these and other relevancies link the 1950s with our present moment in surprising and seemingly prophetic ways. HDCAM video. (Ann Arbor Film Festival)