Meetings with Remarkable Men

1979, France, Peter Brook, 108 min.

Introduced by director Peter Brook

Part travelogue, part adventure, part spiritual guide, Meetings with Remarkable Men vividly describes G. I. Gurdjieff’s quest for spiritual knowledge in his trek through Central Asia and the Middle East. Gurdjieff encounters a Russian prince dedicated to the truth, a Persian dervish who teaches him a new way of living, and a woman who escapes slavery to become a fellow seeker. Through them we see a young man discovering the answers to who we are and what it means to live fully.

This is the second Rubin Museum screening of Meetings with Remarkable Men, but the first in the recent director’s cut version.

“Filmed in the mountain ranges and deserts of Afghanistan, this fascinating drama transports us to a strange and exotic world of spiritual adventurism.” —Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Screening presented with the Gurdjieff Foundation New York.

About the Speaker

Peter Brook is one of the most prolific directors in theater. In 1970 he founded the International Centre of Theatre Research in Paris, where he has presented works such as The Iks (1975), Conference of the Birds (1979), The Cherry Orchard (1981), and The Mahabharata (1985), a nine-hour adaptation of the Indian epic poem. He has directed nine movies including The Beggar’s Opera (1953), Lord of the Flies (1963), King Lear (1969), La Tragedie de Carmen (1983), and The Mahabharata (1989). His literary credits include The Empty Space (1968), The Shifting Point (1987), The Open Door (1993), and his memoir Threads of Time: Recollections (1998). Among his many honors are two Tony and Emmy Awards, an honorary membership to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Kyoto Prize in Creative Arts and Moral Sciences, and an Olympia Prize for Man and Culture. His production of Battlefield runs at BAM from September 28 to October 9.