Jonas Mekas: An Interview

An intimate interview with filmmaker, videomaker, film critic, poet, lecturer, and curator Jonas Mekas. Born into a farming family in Lithuania on December 24, 1922, Mekas was imprisoned in a forced labor camp in Nazi Germany from 1944 to 1945, studied philosophy at the University of Mainz from 1946 to 1948, and relocated to the U. S. in 1949. In 1954, Mekas became editor-in-chief of Film Culture magazine and wrote a film column in The Village Voice from 1958 to 1975. He was President of New American Cinema Group (Film-makers’ Cooperative) from 1961 to 1980 and has been program director of Anthology Film Archives since 1970. In this tape Mekas discusses his background, the art of moving images, the history of avant-garde film, and Film Culture magazine.