Paul Bowles: The Complete Outsider (1994)

Filmed in Morocco and featuring exclusive interviews with cultural icons such as Allen Ginsberg, PAUL BOWLES: THE COMPLETE OUTSIDER explores the esoteric life of the man who wrote the The Sheltering Sky, one of the most provocative and influential novels of the 20th century. As an icon to the Beat Generation, Bowles' writing and life has influenced everyone from William Burroughs (whose Naked Lunch was inspired by Bowles), to David Cronenberg's film of the same name, to Bernardo Bertolucci, whose film adaptation of The Sheltering Sky was a critical and popular hit. Bowles led an enigmatic existence on the outskirts of accepted moral behavior in harsh but beautiful Morocco. Despite being married (to fellow author Jane Bowles), Bowles and his wife had numerous homosexual affairs. The film explores not only his development as a writer and composer, but also his complicated personal life.