Documentary Follows 102-Year-Old Jazz Veteran and Late Arkestra Member
Filmmaker Emilija Škarnulytė details the cosmic philosophy and musical legacy of the Sun Ra Arkestra in a film set to premiere at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.
By Renata Mehta ·
The Sun Ra Arkestra has operated for seven decades as one of the longest-running avant-garde jazz ensembles. A new documentary now examines the lives and work of two specific members of that group.
Sounds of the Desert is the latest project from Lithuanian writer, director, producer, and artist Emilija Škarnulytė. The film centers on Abshalom Ben Shlomo, who died in 2024, and Marshall Allen. Allen is still active in performance at the age of 102.
The production uses interviews, archival footage, and live performance recordings to tell its story. It moves through specific geographic locations connected to the band's history. These sites include the Arkestral House of Sun Ra in Philadelphia, the city of Chicago, a forest in Lithuania, and the Negev Desert.
The Arkestra was founded in Chicago in the mid-1950s by Sun Ra. The group combined avant-garde music with cosmic philosophy, ritual, and spectacle. Historians and musicians often cite the ensemble as a foundational influence on Afrofuturism and the concept of outer space as a domain of Black freedom.
Škarnulytė wrote, directed, produced, and executive produced the film through her company, Mirror Matter Productions. Norway’s Mer Film served as the development producer. That production company has also supported recent festival titles including Harry Lighton’s Pillion (2026), Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value (2025), and Magnus von Horn’s The Girl With the Needle (2025).
In a statement, Škarnulytė noted that her decade-long friendship with Ben Shlomo provided a path into the Arkestra’s universe. She explained that the film listens to the echoes between people, landscapes, and histories. The director stated that the Arkestra created a cosmos to find the strength to live within the world and transform it.
The film will receive its world premiere on Nov. 18 in Estonia. It will compete in the Rebels With a Cause Competition at the 30th edition of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, known as PÖFF.
