Trinh T. Minh-ha Still Sets Her Own Rules – and Heads to ‘The Undying Desert’ in Her First Film Set in the U.S. (EXCLUSIVE)
Trinh T. Minh-ha has finished editing “The Undying Desert”, her first film set in the United States, after nearly two decades of filming in the Great Basin Desert. The work explores how people relate to the desert, challenging the idea that it is barren and considering its significance to Native American life and ways of seeing the world.
The film also reflects on why people seek out deserts as places to question familiar social rules and encounter themselves. Minh-ha has begun another Great Basin-set film with longtime collaborator Jean-Paul Bourdieu, about groups preparing for a possible journey to Mars. She says her films resist fixed categories such as fiction and documentary, and encourages filmmakers to set their own rules while taking responsibility for their choices.
In short
- Minh-ha has completed her first film set in the United States.
- “The Undying Desert” draws on almost 20 years of filming.
- A follow-up film will explore a desert research site focused on Mars.
Explained simply
Trinh T. Minh-ha is a filmmaker and writer whose work explores how people see and describe the world. Her films often cross the usual boundaries between documentary and fiction, rather than following a single style.
The Great Basin is a large desert region in the western United States, with deep significance to Native American communities. Deserts are often described as empty or barren, but they are lived-in places with their own histories, relationships and ways of understanding the world.
Minh-ha’s work considers why people are drawn to deserts and how these places can prompt questions about familiar ways of living. Her approach also raises questions about how filmmakers choose to represent people and places, and the responsibility that comes with those choices.
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