By Michael Wawzenek
Michael Wawzenek (Film Forum Committee) writes about Bijou's upcoming 16mm screening in memory of Jonas Mekas.
JANUARY 28 / 6PM // 16MM: REMINISCENCES OF A JOURNEY TO LITHUANIA
(1972, UK, WEST GERMANY, LITHUANIA, JONAS MEKAS)
In Memoriam: Jonas Mekas
December 24, 1922 - January 23, 2019
On March 14, 1963, Jonas Mekas reviewed Christopher Maclaine’s film The End (1953) in his weekly column for the Village Voice by writing in part, “What is The End all about? It is not my business to tell you what it’s all about. My business is to get you excited about it, to bring it to your attention. I am a raving maniac of the cinema”.
The rest of his review neglects to mention anything specific about the film, yet after reading it I feel absolutely compelled to watch it. This is the magic of his mania, which did more to spread interest in avant-garde cinema than anyone before or since. Consider that he:
- Co-founded Film Culture Magazine in 1954 (a kind of American version of Cahiers du cinéma), which he edited for years and in which he coined the term “New American Cinema”
- Wrote his aforementioned weekly film review column in the Village Voice (1958-1975) bludgeoning the film industry and evangelizing underground cinema
- Co-founded the Film-makers’ Cooperative in 1962 to distribute independent artists’ films, now containing over 5,000 films by 900 artists
- Co-founded Anthology Film Archives in 1970 which now hosts 900 screenings of experimental, avant-garde, and independent films each year, and holds the world’s most extensive collection of avant-garde films and videos as well as the world’s largest collection of paper materials related to experimental film
Oh yeah, and he made films. One of which (Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania, 1972) Bijou is screening a 16mm print of that we’re renting from the very Film-makers’ Cooperative that he founded. Don’t let the dates mentioned here fool you into thinking he was only active in the 1950s-70s! He was heavily involved in these and other organizations (I saw him introduce and talk about a film screening at Anthology a couple years ago) and made films up until his death last January.
In the same way that his review of The End doesn’t elaborate on any details of story or style, I feel that it would be inadequate to list here a description of Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania in any ordinary sense. What I’ll tell you is that Jonas Mekas preferred to call himself a “filmer” rather than a filmmaker or a film director. He filmed moments of his life and that is what you’ll see. A diary, a poem, a memory, a constant search for new ways of thinking and sharing ideas through film. He pushed forward. He was a raving maniac of the cinema (and I hope to be too).
Pick up a copy of the Bijou Calendar, including this piece, now in print! Available at both FilmScene locations (404 E College St + 118 E College St)!