The Hi-Desert Cultural Center is proud to present a special screening of ENO, the first-ever generative documentary film in a one-night-only event featuring an introduction by Orian Williams, one of the revolutionary film’s producers.

“STOP MAKING SENSE” Packs Joshua Tree Theater
As soon as David Byrne walked onto the screen with his boombox, the energy in the room was electric.
The Hi-Desert Cultural Center’s Blak Box Theater was the place to be for a truly unforgettable, packed-house screening of STOP MAKING SENSE. The event, presented in stunning 7.1 cinematic surround sound, turned the already-legendary Talking Heads concert film into a fully immersive experience that had the audience buzzing from start to finish.
Patrons arrived to find a lively atmosphere, enhanced by a full bar serving expertly hand-shaken mixed drinks. Conversations were filled with excitement as fans—some longtime devotees, others discovering the film for the first time—settled into their seats, drinks in hand, ready to witness one of the greatest concert films of all time.
As soon as David Byrne walked onto the screen with his boombox, the energy in the room was electric. The film’s pulsating rhythms, delivered through the theater’s state-of-the-art surround sound, created an almost tangible presence, making it feel as though the band was performing right in front of the audience.
The night also featured an engaging panel discussion led by the Hi-Desert Cultural Center’s Film Institute directors, Matthew Caron and Patricia Vernhes. The discussion delved into the film’s enduring legacy, its groundbreaking cinematography by Jonathan Demme, and the sheer artistry of Talking Heads’ performance.
From the stunning audiovisual presentation to the thoughtful conversation… it wasn’t just a movie screening—it was a celebration of music, film, and community, proving once again that Stop Making Sense is more than just a concert film; it’s an experience that continues to bring people together, decade after decade.
FILM INSTITUTE
SHARE THIS POST:
Elvis, the award-winning 2022 musical spectacle by master showman Baz Luhrmann, remains fresh and vital in 2025. Looking back at the criticism of the film, high praise as well as dim dismissal, everyone seems to have undersold the theme of the artist as chattel in the entertainment industry, which has only become more urgent in the two years since.
The American film director William Friedkin, a devotee who introduced Blow-Up to audiences numerous times over the course of his life, described the film as “a mystery without a solution.” The struggle to reconcile image and reality is part of why Blow-Up resonated so strongly with audiences in 1967. Unsettled and searching, Thomas presents as an archetypal lost soul of the era.
Filmed in only 16 days and earning the coveted Best Actor award at Cannes, Perfect Days tells the story of a quiet and alert man who lives in solitude in one of the world’s densest cities, vacillating between beatific contentment and cold dread.
As soon as David Byrne walked onto the screen with his boombox, the energy in the room was electric.
Throughout Francois Truffaut’s 1973 masterpiece Day For Night, a callow movie star played by Jean-Pierre Leaud asks “Are women magic?” The most agreed-upon interpretation is that Leaud’s character, Alphonse, is really asking whether movies are magic.
No event found!