‘Cave of Forgotten Dreams’ to screen at Smart Art

CAIRO – 21 November 2017: “Cave of Forgotten Dreams” documentary will screen at Smart Art on November 24 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Directed and written by Werner Herzog and first released in 2010 in France, “Cave of Forgotten Dreams,” is an unforgettable cinematic experience that provides a unique glimpse of pristine artwork dating back over 30,000 years ago — almost twice as old as any previous discovery.

The documentary discusses how the artwork of human hands represents humanity’s earliest dreams. It revolves around a group of scientists who have discovered a cave called Chauvet, which contains some of the earliest paintings perfectly preserved for over 20,000 years, in 1994 in Southern France.

Knowing the cultural significance of the cave, the French government immediately cut-off all access to it allowing only a few archaeologists and paleontologists through. Although the documentary filmmaker Herzog was granted limited access to the cave, he was able to enter the cave and examine beautiful artwork created by ancestors around 3,000 years ago, in addition to asking various historians and scientists about the paintings.

The documentary won many awards including Best Nonfiction Film at New York Film Critics Circle Awards 2011 and Best Documentary at Washington Film Critics’ Awards 2011. It was selected to be screened at Toronto International Film Festival 2010 and AFI Film Festival 2010.