Jonas Mekas

Jonas Mekas (1922–2019) was a Lithuanian filmmaker, visual artist and poet, born in the small village of Semeniškiai. In 1944, he was captured by the Nazis along with his brother and sent to the Elmshorn concentration camp in Germany. A few months later, he managed to escape to Denmark, and in 1949, he emigrated to the United States. Settling in New York, Mekas bought a 16mm camera and began making films of his daily life. He soon became involved in the New York avant-garde film scene and, in 1954, founded the magazine Film Culture together with his brother. In 1962, he founded the legendary Film-Makers’ Cooperative, and in 1964 the Film-Makers’ Cinematheque, which would later become the Anthology Film Archives. His films became known for their visual diary style and the recurrent use of archival footage. Among his most notable works are Walden (1969), Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania (1972) and Lost Lost Lost (1975).