Jonas Mekas

Personal Info

Known For

Directing

Known Credits

157

Gender

Male

Birthday

1922-12-24

Day of death

2019-01-23 (96 years old)

Place of Birth

Semeniškiai, Lithuania

Jonas Mekas

Biography

Jonas Mekas was born in 1922 in the farming village of Semeniškiai, Lithuania. In 1944, he and his brother Adolfas were taken by the Nazis to a forced labor camp in Elmshorn, Germany. After the War he studied philosophy at the University of Mainz. At the end of 1949 the UN Refugee Organization brought both brothers to New York City, where they settled down in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Two months after his arrival in New York he borrowed money to buy his first Bolex camera and began to record brief moments of his life. He soon got deeply involved in the American Avant-Garde film movement. In 1954, together with his brother, he started Film Culture magazine, which soon became the most important film publication in the US. In 1958 he began his legendary Movie Journal column in the Village Voice. In 1962 he founded the Film-Makers' Cooperative, and in 1964 the Film-Makers' Cinematheque, which eventually grew into Anthology Film Archives, one of the world's largest and most important repositories of avant-garde cinema, and a screening venue. During all this time he continued writing poetry and making films. To this date he has published more than 20 books of prose and poetry, which have been translated into over a dozen languages. His Lithuanian poetry is now part of Lithuanian classic literature and his films can be found in leading museums around the world. He is largely credited for developing the diaristic forms of cinema. Mekas has also been active as an academic, teaching at the New School for Social Research, the International Center for Photography, Cooper Union, New York University, and MIT. Mekas' film The Brig was awarded the Grand Prize at the Venice Film Festival in 1963. Other films include Walden (1969), Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania (1972), Lost Lost Lost (1975), Scenes from the Life of Andy Warhol (1990), Scenes from the Life of George Maciunas (1992), As I was Moving Ahead I saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000), Letter from Greenpoint (2005), Sleepless Nights Stories (2011) and Out-takes from the Life of a Happy Man. In 2007, he completed a series of 365 short films released on the internet -- one film every day -- and since then has continued to share new work on his website. Since 2000, Mekas has expanded his work into the area of film installations, exhibiting at the Serpentine Gallery, the Centre Pompidou, Musée d'Art moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Moderna Museet (Stockholm), PS1 Contemporary Art Center MoMA, Documenta of Kassel, the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, and the Venice Biennale.

Known For

  • Notes on an American Film Director at Work

    Notes on an American Film Director at Work

  • As I Was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty

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

  • Film: The Living Record of Our Memory

    Film: The Living Record of Our Memory

  • Kulturplatz

    Kulturplatz

  • Please Leave a Message: Anthology Film Archives Voicemails Through the Ages

    Please Leave a Message: Anthology Film Archives Voicemails Through the Ages

  • Scenes from Allen's Last Three Days on Earth as a Spirit

    Scenes from Allen's Last Three Days on Earth as a Spirit

  • Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film

    Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film

  • Galaxie

    Galaxie

  • Doc

    Doc

  • Belladonna

    Belladonna

  • ORG

    ORG

  • Poem Posters

    Poem Posters

  • Anger Me

    Anger Me

  • Dirt

    Dirt

  • Fire in the East: A Portrait of Robert Frank

    Fire in the East: A Portrait of Robert Frank

  • Andy Warhol's Factory People... Inside the Sixties Silver Factory

    Andy Warhol's Factory People... Inside the Sixties Silver Factory

  • Award

    Award

  • ‘Rameau’s Nephew’ by Diderot (Thanx to Dennis Young) by Wilma Schoen

    ‘Rameau’s Nephew’ by Diderot (Thanx to Dennis Young) by Wilma Schoen

  • Strong Medicine

    Strong Medicine

  • Filmmakers

    Filmmakers

  • Andy Warhol Screen Tests

    Andy Warhol Screen Tests

  • Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV

    Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV

  • Diaries, Notes, and Sketches

    Diaries, Notes, and Sketches

  • Diaries, Notes, and Sketches

    Diaries, Notes, and Sketches

  • Guest

    Guest

  • Nico Icon

    Nico Icon

  • The Velvet Underground

    The Velvet Underground

  • River of Fundament

    River of Fundament

  • Who Gets to Call It Art?

    Who Gets to Call It Art?

  • Imagine

    Imagine

  • My Conversations on Film

    My Conversations on Film

  • The Love Merchant

    The Love Merchant

  • Step Across the Border

    Step Across the Border

  • 3.11 A Sense of Home Films

    3.11 A Sense of Home Films

  • What Is Cinema?

    What Is Cinema?

  • It Came from Kuchar

    It Came from Kuchar

  • Lavender

    Lavender

  • No. 18: Mahagonny

    No. 18: Mahagonny

  • The Misfits - 30 Years of Fluxus

    The Misfits - 30 Years of Fluxus

  • Notes for Jerome

    Notes for Jerome

  • George: The Story of George Maciunas and Fluxus

    George: The Story of George Maciunas and Fluxus

  • Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis

    Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis

  • Last Interview Film of Jonas Mekas/version 1

    Last Interview Film of Jonas Mekas/version 1

  • Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania

    Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania

  • 365 Day Project

    365 Day Project

  • A Day in the Life of Andy Warhol

    A Day in the Life of Andy Warhol

  • Award Presentation to Andy Warhol

    Award Presentation to Andy Warhol

  • In the Mirror of Maya Deren

    In the Mirror of Maya Deren

  • Jonas in the Desert

    Jonas in the Desert

  • Cinema and Sanctuary

    Cinema and Sanctuary

  • Warhol's Cinema 1963-1968: Mirror for the Sixties

    Warhol's Cinema 1963-1968: Mirror for the Sixties

  • Lost, Lost, Lost

    Lost, Lost, Lost

  • Occhio privato sul nuovo mondo

    Occhio privato sul nuovo mondo

  • On the Holy Spirit

    On the Holy Spirit

  • Paradise Not Yet Lost

    Paradise Not Yet Lost

  • TO NEW YORK WITH LOVE - A Letter to Penny Arcade June 25, 2001

    TO NEW YORK WITH LOVE - A Letter to Penny Arcade June 25, 2001

  • Tapes

    Tapes

  • Invocation: Maya Deren

    Invocation: Maya Deren

  • Empire

    Empire

  • The Invisible Father

    The Invisible Father

  • Excavating Taylor Mead

    Excavating Taylor Mead

  • Meet The Kuchar Brothers

    Meet The Kuchar Brothers

  • Reminiscences of Jonas Mekas

    Reminiscences of Jonas Mekas

  • Beyond the Bolex

    Beyond the Bolex

  • Out-Takes from the Life of a Happy Man

    Out-Takes from the Life of a Happy Man

  • Tiny Tim: King for a Day

    Tiny Tim: King for a Day

  • Behind the Artist: Andy Warhol, an American Prophet

    Behind the Artist: Andy Warhol, an American Prophet

  • The Perfect Team: The Making of 'On the Bowery'

    The Perfect Team: The Making of 'On the Bowery'

  • Fragments of Paradise

    Fragments of Paradise

  • Going Home

    Going Home

  • Ricky Leacock Visit, April 15, 1971

    Ricky Leacock Visit, April 15, 1971

  • Barbara Rubin and the Exploding NY Underground

    Barbara Rubin and the Exploding NY Underground

  • Vertigo

    Vertigo

  • Viva Jonas!

    Viva Jonas!

  • Interview and Reading: Jonas Mekas

    Interview and Reading: Jonas Mekas

  • Jonas Mekas in Kodachrome Days

    Jonas Mekas in Kodachrome Days

  • Re: Maciunas and Fluxus

    Re: Maciunas and Fluxus

  • Michael Snow Up Close

    Michael Snow Up Close

  • Jonas

    Jonas

  • Visionaries

    Visionaries

  • My Birthday

    My Birthday

  • Sean

    Sean

  • Nitsch

    Nitsch

  • RAHHH

    RAHHH

  • The Lamb

    The Lamb

  • Song of Avignon

    Song of Avignon

  • A Poet from the Lower East Side

    A Poet from the Lower East Side

  • J. Mekas

    J. Mekas

  • Quartet Number One

    Quartet Number One

  • Self-Portrait

    Self-Portrait

  • Cinematic Correspondences: Jonas Mekas - J.L. Guerin

    Cinematic Correspondences: Jonas Mekas - J.L. Guerin

  • Notes in Lifestyle Margins

    Notes in Lifestyle Margins

  • Home Movies 1971-81

    Home Movies 1971-81

  • Sebastian and Jonas Leaving the Party

    Sebastian and Jonas Leaving the Party

  • Vies et morts d'Andy Warhol

    Vies et morts d'Andy Warhol

  • Makeshift (for Mekas)

    Makeshift (for Mekas)

  • Salvador Dalí at Work

    Salvador Dalí at Work

  • A Mixtape for Stom

    A Mixtape for Stom

  • Just Visiting This Planet

    Just Visiting This Planet

  • Cinématon

    Cinématon

  • Laboratorium Anthology

    Laboratorium Anthology

  • Gena Rowlands: A Life on Film

    Gena Rowlands: A Life on Film

  • Question a Day

    Question a Day

  • Self Discovery for Social Survival

    Self Discovery for Social Survival

  • Elegy for J.M.

    Elegy for J.M.

  • Filmstudio, mon amour

    Filmstudio, mon amour

  • Persistence of Vision

    Persistence of Vision

  • Diane the Zebra Woman

    Diane the Zebra Woman

  • Not in Our Name

    Not in Our Name

  • A Letter from Greenpoint

    A Letter from Greenpoint

  • Jonas in the Brig

    Jonas in the Brig

  • Cinématon n°1590 : Jonas Mekas

    Cinématon n°1590 : Jonas Mekas

  • Keep singing: a tribute to Jonas Mekas

    Keep singing: a tribute to Jonas Mekas

  • Jonas Mekas in Paris 10/97

    Jonas Mekas in Paris 10/97

  • The Sin of Jesus

    The Sin of Jesus

  • I Don't Know Which Tree It Comes From that Fragrance

    I Don't Know Which Tree It Comes From that Fragrance

  • The Song of Central Park

    The Song of Central Park

  • Back from New York

    Back from New York

  • A Matter of Baobab

    A Matter of Baobab

  • A Report from Venice

    A Report from Venice

  • The Song of Avila

    The Song of Avila

  • Journey to Lithuania

    Journey to Lithuania

  • Jonas Mekas Anthology

    Jonas Mekas Anthology

  • Nam June Paik: Lessons from the Video Master

    Nam June Paik: Lessons from the Video Master

  • Postcard from America

    Postcard from America

  • Requiem for a Manual Typewriter

    Requiem for a Manual Typewriter

  • 3 Friends Singing (...in the Desert)

    3 Friends Singing (...in the Desert)

  • Screen Test [ST211]: Jonas Mekas

    Screen Test [ST211]: Jonas Mekas

  • My Mars Bar Movie

    My Mars Bar Movie

  • All About Bolex

    All About Bolex

  • Cinema Is Not 100 Years Old

    Cinema Is Not 100 Years Old

  • My Country is Cinema

    My Country is Cinema

  • Reminiscences from Germany

    Reminiscences from Germany

  • I Had Nowhere to Go

    I Had Nowhere to Go

  • Portrait Serie - Jonas Mekas

    Portrait Serie - Jonas Mekas

  • Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol

    Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol

  • Sunday December 30, 2007

    Sunday December 30, 2007

  • Tuesday Jan. 9, 2007

    Tuesday Jan. 9, 2007

  • Notes for a Déjà vu

    Notes for a Déjà vu

  • Axiom of Choice

    Axiom of Choice

  • Jonas Towards Broadway

    Jonas Towards Broadway

  • Jonas Keeps Shooting Around

    Jonas Keeps Shooting Around

  • Jonas Mekas in Budapest

    Jonas Mekas in Budapest

  • Jonas Mekas, Friday 13th October

    Jonas Mekas, Friday 13th October

  • Letter to John from Jonas

    Letter to John from Jonas

  • Zefiro Torna or Scenes from the Life of George Maciunas (Fluxus)

    Zefiro Torna or Scenes from the Life of George Maciunas (Fluxus)

  • Underground New York

    Underground New York

  • Notes on Marie Menken

    Notes on Marie Menken

  • Maya Deren, Take Zero

    Maya Deren, Take Zero

  • Four Shadows

    Four Shadows

  • EXPRMNTL

    EXPRMNTL

  • New York Conversations

    New York Conversations

  • He Stands in a Desert Counting the Seconds of His Life

    He Stands in a Desert Counting the Seconds of His Life

  • The Queen of Sheba Meets the Atom Man

    The Queen of Sheba Meets the Atom Man

  • The Definition of Insanity

    The Definition of Insanity

  • Shooting Guns

    Shooting Guns

  • The Signing

    The Signing