Public screenings of the one of the most famous Jonas Mekas films “Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania” (1974) in Bethlehem and Ramallah on the 1st and 3rd of December aimed to commemorate the centenary of Jonas Mekas. The events are being organised in cooperation with the Palestinian partners – the Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem and the Tibaq Publishing House in Ramallah.
The film “Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania” will be screened on 1 December at 19:00 at the Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem.
The film “Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania” will be screened on 3 December at 17:00 at Tibaq Cultural Center in Ramallah.
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Jonas Mekas birth, Theatre Image Forum is organizing a screening of the film “Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania” (1974).
“Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania” chronicles the return journey to Jonas Mekas 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.
“I was visiting Jerome Hill. Jerome loved France, especially Provence. He spent all his summers in Cassis. My window overlooked the sea. I sat in my little room, reading or writing, and looked at the sea. I decided to place my Bolex exactly at the angle of light as what Signac saw from his studio which was just behind where I was staying, and film the view from morning till after sunset, frame by frame. One day of the Cassis port filmed in one shot.” – Jonas Mekas
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: “Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania”; “The 365 Days Project: February 21”; “Wien & Mozart”; “BreathDeath”; “Harmonica”; “The Vision Machine”; “Imperceptihole”: “Notes on the Circus”; “Imperfect Three-Image Films”; “Travel Songs”; “A Letter to Penny Arcade”; “My Birthday”; “I Don’t Know Which Tree it Comes from that Fragrance”; “As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty”; “Out-Takes from the Life of a Happy Man”; “Self-Portrait”.
The National Audiovisual Institute (KAVI) in Helsinki celebrates the 100th anniversary of Jonas Mekas with a programme of four feature films, a short film programme, a photo exhibition as well as a panel discussion and introductions. The programme kicks off on the first weekend of December and runs until mid-January in the cinematheque of KAVI, Kino Regina.
The Jonas Mekas programme starts on 2 December with a screening of Mekas’ short films and film diary entries. 3rd December begins with a conversation about Jonas Mekas’ work and legacy. The participants include two international guests: Kristijonas Gukauskas, a London-based Lithuanian art historian and independent curator, and Arunas Kulikauskas who has worked closely with Jonas Mekas for 22 years at the Anthology Film Archives. Photos by A. Kulikauskas are exhibited in the lobby of Kino Regina during the film programme in December and January. He will be also introducing the screening of the feature film Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania (1972) following the panel discussion and the short film programme on 4 December.
The other films in the programme include Walden (1969), Lost Lost Lost (1976) and As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000), all screened from 16 mm film.
For a complete programme at Kino Regina visit link here.
In occasion of the centenary celebrations for Jonas Mekas’ (1922 – 2019) birth, Through Jonas Mekas: From Morra Greco Collection to Contemporary Lithuanian Artists, curated by Alessandra Troncone, is a tribute to the Lithuanian-born poet, artist and filmmaker whose starting point is the two works in the Morra Greco Collection: Elvis&Wein&Mozart (2001) and Lonesome Day (2003).
The project divides into two moments: on Tuesday, November 22 at 6 pm, a talk will take place at the Fondazione Morra Greco that will focus on Mekas, his relationship with Naples and his influence on the latest generation of artists and filmmakers. Moderated by Alessandra Troncone, the event will feature Francesco Urbano Ragazzi, curators of the exhibition Jonas Mekas. Images are Real at the Macro Mattatoio, Rome; Simona Žemaitytė, artist and filmmaker; and Giuseppe Zevola, artist, and will be accompanied by the screening of two films by Mekas from the Morra Greco Collection.
Starting instead on Thursday, November 24, and for the duration of Art Days – Napoli Campania (November 24-27), the third floor of the Foundation will host a screening featuring a selection of films and videos by Lithuanian artists born between the 1980s and 1990s. The programme will screen films by the following Lithuanian artists: Rimas Sakalauskas, Emilija Škarnulytė, Denisas Kolomyckis, Kipras Dubauskas, Ulijona Odišarija, Simona Žemaitytė.
In the framework of Jonas Mekas 100! the Cinema of the DFF in Frankfurt will present 16mm-screening dedicated to the director: Peter Sempel’s portrait film “Jonas in the Desert” (1994).
In the framework of Jonas Mekas 100! the Cinema of the DFF in Frankfurt will present 16mm-screening dedicated to the director “Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania” (1972).
“Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania” chronicles the return journey to Jonas Mekas 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.
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.
On December 2nd, as part of our theme of the month “In der Schwebe” [In limbo] we will screen Jonas Mekas’ film “As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty” in our small cinema in Bielefeld.
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.
