In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the late Jonas Mekas we are happy to present a one-off screening of his landmark 1972 film “Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania”, in partnership with the Hyde Park Picture House.

“Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania” chronicles the return journey to his homeland with his brother Adolfas, after several decades in the United States. Reuniting with siblings, neighbours and their mother, the film pulls the viewer through village life in rural Soviet Lithuania, bookended by scenes from New York in the 1950s and a stop in Vienna on their return journey to the US. Combining music, poetry and reflections, with short fragmentary bursts of filming, Mekas’ films are alive with memory.

Preceded by a video from Mekas’s “365 Days Project” (2007).

UK Cinema Tour curated by Herb Shellenberger.

For more information visit the link here.

The Danish Film Institute will join the celebration of Jonas Mekas’ centennial year with a film retrospective. Certain films will be presented by experts who are well acquainted with Mekas’ films. Introduction by Arūnas Kulikauskas, Sebastian Mekas, and Lars Movin is foreseen before the screenings:

“Jonas Meka’s Anthology” by Arunas Kulikauskas, Eimantas Belickas, Vytautas Landsbergis / 2022 / 75 min
“Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania” by Jonas Mekas / 1972 / 82 min
“Walden” by Jonas Mekas / 1969 / 180 min
“The Brig” by Jonas Mekas / 1964 / 68 min
“The Sixties Quartet” by Jonas Mekas / 1990 / 129 min
“Lost, Lost, Lost” by Jonas Mekas / 1976 / 180 min
“The Misfits” by Lars Movin / 1993 / 79 min

More information about the program and the list of Jonas Mekas’ screenings here.

For over 70 years, Lithuanian filmmaker, Jonas Mekas, documented his life in what came to be known as his diary films. From his arrival in New York as a displaced person in 1949 to his death in 2019, he chronicled the trauma and loss of exile while pioneering institutions to support the growth of independent film in the United States. Internationally known as the “godfather” of avant-garde cinema, he inspired countless independent artists, from Martin Scorsese, Peter Bogdanovich, Andy Warhol, Yoko Ono, John Lennon to John Waters and Jim Jarmusch; all drawn to his indefatigable spirit and belief in the transformative power of cinema. But internally, he struggled.  The traumas of his early life and exile stayed with him.

Directed by K.D. Davison “Fragments of Paradise” is an intimate look at his life and work constructed from thousands of hours of his own video and film diaries—including never-before-seen tapes and unpublished audio recordings. It is a story about finding beauty amidst profound loss, and a man who tried to make sense of it all… with a camera.

“Fragments of Paradise” will be premiered on September 2, 2022, 17:00h at the The 79th Venice International Film Festival, Sala Casino,
and screened on September 3, 2022, 17:00h in Sala Volpi.

More information available here.

In a 2019 interview, asked by Hans Ulrich Olbricht about projects he did not complete, Jonas Mekas answered: “When I turn 100, I want to go to the Himalayas, to Tibet. We’ll talk about it in 2023, when I’m back.” If he was still alive, he would be celebrating his hundredth birthday this year, and probably making the trip he dreamt about. But the voyage he planned remained an idea, fantasy of a potential future which may give meaning to the present moment. Perhaps for Mekas the world’s highest peaks were always just a vision belonging to the realm of unfulfilled dreams which pushed the artist towards continuing development, further mental and artistic journeys.

The artistic duo Emanuel Geisser and Kama Sokolnicka celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the Lithuanian-born artist’s birth with an exhibition about travel, movement, light and dreams which are to remain unfulfilled.

Exhibition is curated by Joanna Kobyłt.

More information available here.

In celebration of the centenary of Jonas Mekas birth, the Independent Cinema Office, Lithuanian Cultural Institute and curator Herb Shellenberger present the “Jonas Mekas 100!” UK Cinema Tour, a series bringing together several of Jonas Mekas’s most-celebrated films alongside lesser-seen works.

Films to be screened:

Two films by Jonas Mekas “Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania” (1972) and “The 365 Days Project” (2007) will be screened on 7 September at 18:30. This screening will be introduced by Jamie Allan, Producer of HOME Artist Film Lab and HOME Artist Film Weekender.

Two films by Jonas Mekas “Out-Takes from the Life of a Happy Man” (2012) and “Self-Portrait” (1980) will be screened on 15 September at 18.30. This screening will be introduced by Kristijonas Gukauskas, Lithuanian art historian and researcher focusing on the works of Jonas Mekas.

For more information visit the link here.

On the centennial anniversary of the birth of Jonas Mekas, the Monira Foundation presents a year-long celebration of the pioneering filmmaker’s works and life at Mana Contemporary’s Jersey City location.

September 11 afternoon will feature three installations by the late poet, filmmaker and artist, Jonas Mekas (1922-2019).

– “Lithuania and the Collapse of the USSR” (four-channel video installation, 2009);

– “Destruction Quartet” (four-channel video installation, 2006);

– “491 Broadway” (Sound installation with table and chairs, 2009).

More information on this event is available here.

“I don’t know if I write poems… When I shoot, I don’t make films. I just film, film, film. The same is with my writing. I write, I write, I write… Is it poetry or prose? Or nothing? I don’t think about it at all, it doesn’t matter in any way. I just write, write, write…” – Jonas Mekas

Jonas Mekas was captured in various circumstances on video and photo cameras in the diaries of friends and other curious people. The audiovisual installation „Jonas Mekas, more closely and from further away” consists of different extremely personal fragments of video and photo diaries of Arūnas Kulikauskas, Chihiro Ito, and Saulius Paukštys, where the main character is Mekas, a poet, a filmmaker and an artist of life. Arūnas Kulikauskas recorded Jonas Mekas in 1998 on the roof of his house in New York, reading his then unpublished poetry. The New York-based artist Chihiro Ito visited Mekas in 2018 and interviewed him about his work, life, and FLUXUS. Photographer Saulius Paukštys captured the meeting with Jonas Mekas in one of New York bars in 2007.

Exhibition is curated by Gintaras Sodeika.

More information available here.

On the occasion of Jonas Mekas’ 100th birthday, the Sprengel Museum Hannover honors the artist by presenting his films in an exhibition space during the year.

From 17 June to 31 July the visitors of the museum will have an opportunity to watch the film by Jonas Mekas “Lost Lost Lost” (1976). Film starts at 10:30 / 12:00 / 13:30 / 15:00 / 16:30 / 18:00.

For more information visit the link here.

Experimental poetry translation workshop to translate Jonas Mekas’ poetry into French, public poetry readings and discussions, musical evenings, followed by the publication at the end of the project.

Participants: Stéphane Bouquet (writer, poet and translator, scriptwriter and film critic), Jean-Baptiste Cabaud (poet and translator), Roxana Hashemi (poet and translator), Anne Portugal (poet and translator), Ainis Selena (translator), Marielle Vitureau (author, translator, correspondent for Radio France Internationale and Courrier international in the Baltic States).

On 17 September, 15:30 there will be a public presentation of the “Translating Mekas” project and bilingual reading at the Centre international de poésie, Marseille.

On 18 September, 17:00 there will be an open-air bilingual reading of the first translated poems at the Camargo Foundation, Cassis.

On 18 September, 18:30 there will be a concert “More music for Jonas” by Arturas Bumšteinas with the ensemble C. Barré at the Camargo Foundation, Cassis.

“After Abbas Kiarostami and Victor Erice, the CCCB in Barcelona has repeated the experience with this video correspondence between Jonas Mekas and José-Luis Guerín. Both travel, both work at home, both reflect on their practice and the world around them in relation to their common obsession with filming. Admiration and respect, Europe and the United States, springtime here and springtime there, seriousness and joy of life. Crossed self-portraits that are addressed in images and sounds, and resolutely intended for everyone.” – Jean-Pierre Rehm, FID Marseille 2011

More information on this event can be found here.

Videodrome 2 is an alternative cinema broadcasting and programming project that takes place in a 49-seat handmade screening room in Marseille.

Films to be screened:

Film by Jonas Mekas “Lost Lost Lost” will be screened on 15 September at 20:30 PM. With the participation of Cécile Tourneur.

Programme of short films by Jonas Mekas will be screened on 16 September at 20:30 PM.

Film by Jonas Mekas “As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty” will be screened on 17 September at 18:30 PM.

More information click here.

Association Szmery (“Murmurs”) organises a screening of the film “As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty” by Jonas Mekas at the Declinated Improvisation (Improwizacja Deklinowana) Festival. The festival is dedicated to the phenomenon of improvisation, which we want to bring to the Warsaw community with the help of interdisciplinary events. In addition to workshops, live soundtracked film screenings, open stages, urban walks or performances, we also wanted to include in the program an attempt to show improvisation in cinema, from the perspective of directing and camera work. We believe that the film work of Jonas Mekas, a prominent Lithuanian experimental director, embodies the concept of improvisation in cinema and the film named above proves it without a doubt.

For more information visit the link here.

Musical performance for chamber ensemble, electronics and voice recording of Jonas Mekas. This performance is an arrangement of a voice recording of Lithuanian-American experimental filmmaker Jonas Mekas. As a basis for this music the voice-over from Mekas’ 1972 film “Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania” was used. The film tells the story of Mekas’ short return to his native village in Lithuania after 27 years of absence and narrates the memories and impressions in the author’s own voice.

Arturas Bumšteinas is Lithuanian sound artist and interdisciplinary composer working in various ways of materializing the sonic domain, as well as was resident at the Camargo Foundation.

More information on this event can be found here.

Georgia celebrates the centenary of Jonas Mekas with film program “Portraits from the 20th century” and screenings in two cities – Batumi and Kutaisi. The program shows portraits of different people, artists captured by Jonas Mekas and his self-portraits. Fragments and scenes from life, personal journey and memories are creating a visual archive and poetry of Jonas Mekas’ cinema. In the chosen films we see – echoes of time, culture, history, biographical processes and artistic impulses of concrete authors. 

The film “Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania” (1974) by Jonas Mekas will be screened on 23 September at Cinema Apollo.

The program curated by Lika Glurjidze, Nini Shvelidze.

More information available here.

In celebration of the centenary of his birth, the Independent Cinema Office, Lithuanian Cultural Institute and curator Herb Shellenberger present the Jonas Mekas 100! UK Cinema Tour, a series bringing together several of Jonas Mekas’s most-celebrated films alongside lesser-seen works.

Screenings:

“Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania”, 1974

“The 365 Days Project: February 21”, 2007

“Out-Takes from the Life of a Happy Man”, 2013

“Jonas Mekas Shorts Films & Videos 1966-2017”

“As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty”, 2000

“The New American Cinema and After”

See full information here.

“Since 1950, I have never stopped keeping my filmed diary. I walked around with my Bolex reacting to the immediate reality: situations, friends, New York, and seasons. Some days I would shoot 10 shots, some days 10 seconds, some days 10 minutes, or I would shoot nothing… “Walden” contains the film material from 1964 to 1968 edited in chronological order. The soundtrack uses sounds recorded at the same time: voices, subway, street noises, a little Chopin or accordion… “. — Jonas Mekas. The film is shown on 16 mm.

More information click here.

Georgia celebrates the centenary of Jonas Mekas with film program “Portraits from the 20th century” and screenings in two cities – Batumi and Kutaisi. The program shows portraits of different people, artists captured by Jonas Mekas and his self-portraits. Fragments and scenes from life, personal journey and memories are creating a visual archive and poetry of Jonas Mekas’ cinema. In the chosen films we see – echoes of time, culture, history, biographical processes and artistic impulses of concrete authors. 

Short films program at Kutaisi International Short Film Festival:

“Scenes from the Life of Andy Warhol” (1990), “Salvador Dali at Work” (1964) and “Happy Birthday to John” (1996) will be screened on 27 September at 18:00.

“Zefiro Torna or Scenes from the Life of George Maciunas (Fluxus)” (2002) and “Happy Birthday to John” (1996) will be screened on 28 September at 16:00.

The program curated by Lika Glurjidze, Nini Shvelidze.

More information available here.

Jonas Mekas was not only a writer, poet, artist, and co-founder of Anthology, the Film-Makers’ Cooperative, and Film Culture Magazine, but also a filmmaker of great renown. Immediately following his death, we embarked on a multi-part, comprehensive retrospective of his films and videos, both widely celebrated classics and far more obscure works. That retrospective was all set to conclude with a fifth and final chapter in the spring of 2020, which was ultimately postponed due to the pandemic.

Now, as both a long-delayed continuation of the memorial retrospective, and a celebration of Jonas’s centennial (he was born on December 24, 1922), we present the series of screenings that were initially planned in 2020. The earlier chapters of the retrospective were devoted to his diary films, his portraits of people and places, and his films documenting various forms of art or performance. This installment, on the other hand, showcases the remaining films in Jonas’s filmography, which don’t easily fit into any category. The selection encompasses a small subset of films that constitute film- or video-letters to friends, colleagues, or to the public at large, as well as numerous others that demonstrate Jonas’s restless and ever-inventive openness to new cinematic forms.

More information available here.

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Jonas Mekas, the newly restored version of the 4-hour feature film “As I was moving ahead occasionally I saw brief glimpses of beauty” presented in 2000 at the London Film Festival will be presented, reconstructing the Lithuanian director, poet and artist’s filmic activity of over 30 years.

The screening is introduced by Andrea Lissoni, curator of the “Moving Images” project for NU.

For more information visit the link here.

Perhaps Jonas Mekas’s cinematic magnum opus, “As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty” is the filmmaker’s nearly five-hour film which he describes as “a masterpiece of nothing”. Through the film’s twelve chapters, the artist describes his obsession with nothing—or what’s considered nothing, in cinema, in life. An associative, poetic construction of footage shot between 1970 and 1999, the film finds beauty in the disorder of everyday life.

As I Was Moving Ahead… is widely regarded as a masterpiece of documentary film, and it is currently the fourth highest-rated documentary on Letterboxd. This epic diary film is structured into twelve chapters, each introduced by Mekas’s wry and self-reflexive commentary.

Please note: “As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty” will be screened in two parts with an intermission, Chapters 1-6 (132 minutes) and Chapters 7-12 (152 minutes).

Full information here.

2022 is the centennial of the late Jonas Mekas, poet, filmmaker and artist, who transformed avant garde film in the U.S. Join film writer and essayist Phillip Lopate and author and poet Charity Coleman for a discussion about Mekas’s time in NY and musician/ author Larry Simon and author John Broven (New York City Blues: Postwar Portraits from Harlem to the Village and Beyond) talking about the postwar New York City Blues scene based on interviews and personal stories.

More information click here.

An afternoon celebrating Jonas and his friends through poetry curated by Charity Coleman.

With the contribution of:  Anselm Berrigan, Lukas Brasiskis, Charity Coleman, Luba Drozd, Bradley Eros, Gabriela Galvan, Christy Gast, Masha Godovannaya, Will Heinrich, Brenda Iijima, Evan James, Andy Lampert, Hollis Melton, Nathlie Provosty, Lynne Tillman, Edwin Torres and Sparrow.

More information on this event available here.

The publication of Jonas Mekas poem “Žodžiai ir raidės” in Chinese. Published by Equator Publishing, Taipei, Taiwan.

More information to come.

In celebration of the centenary of his birth, the Independent Cinema Office, Lithuanian Cultural Institute and curator Herb Shellenberger present the Jonas Mekas 100! UK Cinema Tour, a series bringing together several of Jonas Mekas’s most-celebrated films alongside lesser-seen works.

Screenings:

“Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania”, 1974

“The 365 Days Project: February 21”, 2007

“Out-Takes from the Life of a Happy Man”, 2013

“Jonas Mekas Shorts Films & Videos 1966-2017”

“As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty”, 2000

“The New American Cinema and After”

See full information here.