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Mekas Making Podcastable Movies

In one of the youtube links below, Jonas Mekas explains why he set-up Anthology Film Archives:

If I find a film that is ecstatic, that gives me great excitement, I have to share it with others, otherwise I am unhappy.

When I saw Mekas’ “As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty“, it profoundly affected my view of the world. Years after seeing it, I still think about it nearly every day. It’s a five-hour film. There was one screening of it at PFA in Berkeley, and that was it. I’ve been trying to see it again ever since. (It would make a tempting eyeball decathlon double-feature with Eggleston’s “Stranded in Canton“.)

Somewhere east of Ft. Stockton, Texas last week, I heard this NPR story about how Jonas Mekas will be making short podcastable films available on jonasmekas.com.

Mekas’ work has been attracting attention recently because he lived within the NYC art world in the 70s, and as an autobiographical filmmaker, ended-up filming things like the John Lennon birthday clip on youtube. But Mekas’ life’s work is of a higher order.

If you’re interested in the visual expression of the documentary impulse (whether it’s moving or still), take a look at Mekas’ work. Here are a few more youtube links:

* A curator at Warkwick Arts Center talks through their Mekas exhibition
* Mekas finds a crushed can
* Mekas on underground cinema

Tag: No Street Photography