Natalie did a wonderful job of showcasing the beautiful life
of Jonas Mekas. Having escaped Nazi labor camps, Mekas voyaged to America in
search of a better life. After washing up on the shores of New York he
purchased a 16mm camera that he soon fell deeply in love with. Mekas loved the
concept of catching the “snapshots” of life and soon he found himself shooting anything
and everything around him. His first film “Guns of the trees” which displayed
no real plot but rather a spontaneous slice of life feel to the film with an ambiguous
ending. As he grew his own personal style Mekas soon started to gain a reputation and
popularity for his documentary style shooting, simple editing and repetition. A
tremendous experimental/avante garde community began to sprout up out of New
York with Mekas, Warhol and Brakhage at the center of it all. As a self-described
child at heart, Mekas saw film as a celebration of life and which often
included his family, friends and loved ones in his pieces of work. In one of his most
famous films “Walden” the viewer is shown a chronological home movie style film
that showcases the people and places in his life. Jonas Mekas still lives till
this day influencing and creating as much as his young heart desires. A special
shout out to Natalie for making such a great presentation on his work and life!
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