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.
On the occasion of Jonas Mekas’ 100th birthday, D’acqua e di ferro festival, promoted by Unione Montana Alta Val Tanaro, is honored to bring in the Mediterranean Alps of Italy the film “As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty”.
The screening, organized with the collaboration of Lithuanian Embassy in Italy and Nuovo Cinema Ormea, ideally establishes a bridge between Jonas Mekas’ art and the landscapes of Tanaro Valley, with its historical railway “Ceva-Ormea”.
The condition of displacement explored by Mekas in his film is also present in the region, suspended between a nostalgic past and the need of portraying a visionary idea of future. Both regions (Lithuania and Tanaro Valley) in the second half of 20th Century suffered a marginalization, due to the disbalanced relationship between “center” and “countrysides”. Through the gaze of Jonas Mekas, D’acqua e di ferro aims to establish a bridge between different times and spaces, in order to enlighten the richness of what is hidden far away from the noise.
The screening will take place outdoors, in Piazza Nani Summer Cinema.
Lithuanian Film Festival in New Zealand will join the celebration of Jonas Mekas’ centennial year with two films and virtual discussion and a Q&A session after the screening: In Between by Jonas Mekas (1978, 52 min) Jonas Keeps Shooting Around by Pip Chodorov (2002, 11min)
Virtual Q&A with Pip Chodorov after the screening.
Two films by Jonas Mekas will be screened at the film club of Les Monteurs associés on July 5 in Nouvel Odéon Cinéma. We will have the pleasure of welcoming Pip Chodorov, who will talk about Jonas Mekas’ films Outtakes from the Life of a Happy Man (2012, 68 mins) and Imperfect Three-Image Films (1995, 6 mins).
In these films, Jonas Mekas, the figure of experimental cinema and creator of the Anthology Film Archives in New York, tells us that his images are more real than his personal memories which are already erased or are in the process of being erased. Images that exist only for themselves, even by themselves and that represent life itself. No actual story. No dramaturgy. But there is indeed an act of editing, a general organization, durations, motives… which we will examine in the presence of Pip Chodorov, friend and distributor of Jonas Mekas’ films.
For more information on this screening visit link here.
A celebration of a towering figure in the history of experimental cinema, this screening of select works by filmmaker Jonas Mekas includes one of his most celebrated films “Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania” (1972) as well as the rarely screened “Self Portrait” (1980). Jonas Mekas arrived in New York as a Lithuanian refugee in 1949. He would go on to leave an indelible mark on that city, surrounding himself with a found family of filmmakers and other creatives but his experiences and development as a filmmaker also remained tied to his Lithuanian roots and the journey he made in his youth. His film “Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania” helps trace that journey and the impact it had, a wonderful introduction to his free approach to film. That film is twinned here with the single take interview film Self Portrait.
This screening will be introduced by University College Cork’s Laura Rascaroli, Professor of Film & Screen Media
The event is supported by The Arts Council and the Lithuanian Embassy of Ireland
The Mostra Internazionale del Nuovo Cinema (Pesaro Film Festival) is one of the most important Italian film festivals. Since the very beginning, the main goal was to organise a non-competitive festival mainly focusing on first works and aiming in particular to walk through new ways and choices that are able to start processes of growth, improvement and evolution of cinema in the world.
On the occasion of the centenary of the birth of Jonas Mekas, the father of New American Cinema, who was celebrated in Pesaro in 1966, the Festival will present the world premiere of the restored copy of Jonas Mekas “As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty” film.
The screening “As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty” will take place at the Teatro Sperimentale on Monday 20 June at 3 p.m., the first part, the second part, Tuesday 21 June, same place and time.
Special screening of “Outtakes From The Life Of A Happy Man” by Jonas Mekas is a record of the fleeting moments of the great artist, who received the Dragon of Dragons in Krakow in 2010 and would have celebrated his 100th birthday this year. The screening will conclude with a unique meeting as part of the new Kraków Film Festival Talks series. Marcin Borchardt, an outstanding director and documentary filmmaker, and Professor Bogdan de Barbaro, a renowned psychiatrist and therapist, will talk about happiness.
This spring the Jewish Museum presents “Jonas Mekas: The Camera Was Always Running”, a major exhibition celebrating the centenary of filmmaker, poet, artist, and Anthology Film Archives co-founder Jonas Mekas. From 1963-70, Mekas and his collaborators organized dozens and dozens of experimental film programs, under the auspices of an organization that was known briefly as the Film-Maker’s Showcase before adopting its permanent name, the Film-Makers’ Cinematheque.
Renewing Anthology Film Archives collaboration with the Jewish Museum more than fifty years after the final Film-Makers’ Cinematheque program, Anthology will present a series of screenings throughout May that will (as much as possible) recreate a selection of the Cinematheque programs that took place there in 1968-70. These programs focus on filmmakers who were notably omitted from the Essential Cinema cycle, demonstrating the breadth of programming presented by the Film-Makers’ Cinematheque, as well as the extraordinary vitality of the experimental film scene of the time.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Jonas Meka’s birth, Film i Samtidskonsten is showing his film “Songs of Stockholm” (1980). A short film about the city of Stockholm through the lens of Jonas Mekas.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Jonas Meka’s birth, Film i Samtidskonsten is showing his film “Walden” (1968) at the Zita cinema in Stockholm. Jonas Mekas extreme focus on everyday events, faces and details becomes a celebration of life – and a way of reclaiming film. The film will be introduced by Isabella Tjäder, curator at Index Konsthall. The film is shown on 16 mm.
“I make home movies – therefore I live. I live – therefore I make home movies.” says Jonas Mekas in his most acclaimed film “Walden”.
