{"product_id":"9781496829221-jonas-mekas","title":"Jonas Mekas","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eInterviews\u003cbr\u003eA refugee from post-World War II Europe who emigrated to the US in 1949, Jonas Mekas (1922-2019) became one of America's foremost champions of independent cinema and one of its most innovative filmmakers. This collection of eighteen interviews covers almost sixty years of the filmmaker's career.\u003cbr\u003eA refugee from post-World War II Europe who emigrated to the US in 1949, Jonas Mekas (1922-2019) became one of America's foremost champions of independent cinema and one of its most innovative filmmakers. An admired poet in his native Lithuania, Mekas began recording his life on film shortly after his arrival in New York. Through his work as the author of the \u003ci\u003eVillage Voice\u003c\/i\u003e's \"Movie Journal\" column, editor of \u003ci\u003eFilm Culture \u003c\/i\u003emagazine, and founder of Anthology Film Archives and the Film-Makers' Cooperative, Mekas played a vital role in the promotion of avant-garde and independent films. His early films, \u003ci\u003eGuns of the Trees \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Brig\u003c\/i\u003e, challenged the structure of traditional narrative filmmaking. He is best known for his \"diary films,\" including \u003ci\u003eWalden \u003c\/i\u003e(\u003ci\u003eDiaries, Notes, and Sketches\u003c\/i\u003e); \u003ci\u003eReminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania\u003c\/i\u003e; and \u003ci\u003eAs I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty\u003c\/i\u003e. His films, writings, and the institutions he built have influenced generations of filmmakers, poets, artists, musicians, critics, and scholars.\u003cp\u003e In \u003ci\u003eJonas Mekas: Interviews\u003c\/i\u003e, volume editor Gregory R. Smulewicz-Zucker collects eighteen interviews covering almost sixty years of the filmmaker's career. Mekas discusses his remarkable life as a refugee from Nazi- and Soviet-occupied Lithuania, his role as one of the major figures in the development of the American avant-garde, and his thoughts about his own work. In conversation with scholars, journalists, and other prominent artists, Mekas speaks of his passion for artistic expression and uncompromising vision for a liberated cinema. These interviews preserve Mekas's voice so that it might speak to future generations of artists and intellectuals.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56471235363190,"sku":"9781496829221","price":22.58,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/stand_38205161_421787b4-e2b1-4e96-b876-1ba6d0ff55a2.jpg?v=1763801088","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9781496829221-jonas-mekas","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}