Jonas Mekas
Known for Directing · 159 credits
- Born
- 1922-12-24
- Died
- 2019-01-23
- Place of birth
- Semeniškiai, Lithuania
Biography
Jonas Mekas (24-12-1922 - 23-1-2019) was born in the farming village of Semeniškiai, Lithuania. In 1944, he and his brother Adolfas were taken by the Nazis to a forced labor camp in Elmshorn, Germany. After the War he studied philosophy at the University of Mainz. At the end of 1949 the UN Refugee Organization brought both brothers to New York City, where they settled down in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Two months after his arrival in New York he borrowed money to buy his first Bolex camera and began to record brief moments of his life. He soon got deeply involved in the American Avant-Garde film movement. In 1954, together with his brother, he started Film Culture magazine, which soon became the most important film publication in the US. In 1958 he began his legendary Movie Journal column in the Village Voice. In 1962 he founded the Film-Makers' Cooperative, and in 1964 the Film-Makers' Cinematheque, which eventually grew into Anthology Film Archives, one of the world's largest and most important repositories of avant-garde cinema, and a screening venue.
During all this time he continued writing poetry and making films. To this date he has published more than 20 books of prose and poetry, which have been translated into over a dozen languages. His Lithuanian poetry is now part of Lithuanian classic literature and his films can be found in leading museums around the world. He is largely credited for developing the diaristic forms of cinema. Mekas has also been active as an academic, teaching at the New School for Social Research, the International Center for Photography, Cooper Union, New York University, and MIT.
Mekas' film The Brig was awarded the Grand Prize at the Venice Film Festival in 1963. Other films include Walden (1969), Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania (1972), Lost Lost Lost (1975), Scenes from the Life of Andy Warhol (1990), Scenes from the Life of George Maciunas (1992), As I was Moving Ahead I saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000), Letter from Greenpoint (2005), Sleepless Nights Stories (2011) and Out-takes from the Life of a Happy Man. In 2007, he completed a series of 365 short films released on the internet -- one film every day -- and since then has continued to share new work on his website.
Since 2000, Mekas has expanded his work into the area of film installations, exhibiting at the Serpentine Gallery, the Centre Pompidou, Musée d'Art moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Moderna Museet (Stockholm), PS1 Contemporary Art Center MoMA, Documenta of Kassel, the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, and the Venice Biennale.
Known For
TV Shows (1)
Movies (158)
ORG
1979
as Self (archive footage)
Cinématon
1978
as N°1590
As I Was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty
2000
as Narrator (voice)
Notes on an American Film Director at Work
2008
as Self
The Velvet Underground
2021
as Self
3.11 A Sense of Home Films
2011
as Himself (voice) (segment "Mt. Ventoux")
Just Visiting This Planet
1991
River of Fundament
2014
as Wake Guest
Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV
2023
as Self (archive footage)
Gena Rowlands: A Life on Film
2019
as Self
Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol
1990
as Self
It Came from Kuchar
2009
as Self (archive footage)
Imagine
1972
as Self
Film: The Living Record of Our Memory
2022
as Self
Nico Icon
1995
as Self
Jonas in the Desert
1994
as Self
Andy Warhol Screen Tests
1965
as Self
365 Day Project
2007
as Self
He Stands in a Desert Counting the Seconds of His Life
1986
as Self (archive footage)
Empire
1965
as Self (uncredited)
Andy Warhol's Factory People... Inside the Sixties Silver Factory
2008
Diaries, Notes, and Sketches
1968
as Self / self
What Is Cinema?
2013
as Self
Last Interview Film of Jonas Mekas/version 1
2019
as Self
Self Discovery for Social Survival
2019
as Narrator (voice)
Shooting Guns
1966
Galaxie
1966
as Self
9/11: Life Under Attack
2021
as Self
Guest
2011
as Self
Lost, Lost, Lost
1976
as Self
Filmmakers
1969
as Himself
The Queen of Sheba Meets the Atom Man
1981
Excavating Taylor Mead
2005
as Self
Fragments of Paradise
2022
as Self (archive footage)
Barbara Rubin and the Exploding NY Underground
2018
Underground New York
1968
as Self
The Invisible Father
2021
as Self (archive footage)
New York Conversations
2010
Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis
2007
as Self
Strong Medicine
1981
In the Mirror of Maya Deren
2002
as Himself
The Love Merchant
1966
as Lounge Patron
Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film
2011
as Himself
Warhol's Cinema 1963-1968: Mirror for the Sixties
1989
as Self
Notes on Marie Menken
2006
as Self
Persistence of Vision
1984
as Self
A Day in the Life of Andy Warhol
2015
as Self
Who Gets to Call It Art?
2006
as Self
Invocation: Maya Deren
1986
as Himself
Fire in the East: A Portrait of Robert Frank
1986
as Self
Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania
1972
as Self
EXPRMNTL
2016
as himself
My Conversations on Film
2013
as Himself
Scenes from Allen's Last Three Days on Earth as a Spirit
1997
as Self
The Sin of Jesus
1961
Beyond the Bolex
2018
as Self
I Don't Know Which Tree It Comes From that Fragrance
2017
as Self
Please Leave a Message: Anthology Film Archives Voicemails Through the Ages
2022
Belladonna
1989
‘Rameau’s Nephew’ by Diderot (Thanx to Dennis Young) by Wilma Schoen
1974
Award Presentation to Andy Warhol
1964
as Self
Diane the Zebra Woman
1962
Dirt
1965
![Screen Test [ST211]: Jonas Mekas](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.tmdb.org%2Ft%2Fp%2Fw300%2F5yEUYxLQWc71aL7OGrhSnpslsQO.jpg&w=1920&q=65)
Screen Test [ST211]: Jonas Mekas
1966
as himself
Maya Deren, Take Zero
2012
as Himself
Tiny Tim: King for a Day
2020
as Himself
No. 18: Mahagonny
1980
as Self
Cyclopean 3D: Life with a Beautiful Woman
2011
A Letter from Greenpoint
2004
as Mekas
Poem Posters
1967
as Self
Notes for Jerome
1978
as Self
Notes in Lifestyle Margins
2002
Filmstudio, mon amour
2015
as Sé stesso
Vies et morts d'Andy Warhol
2005
On the Holy Spirit
2016
Re: Maciunas and Fluxus
2011
Interview and Reading: Jonas Mekas
1991
as Himself
All About Bolex
2015
The Definition of Insanity
2005
Lavender
2010
as Self
Home Movies 1971-81
1985
Behind the Artist: Andy Warhol, an American Prophet
2015
Cinematic Correspondences: Jonas Mekas - J.L. Guerin
2011
as Himself
Makeshift (for Mekas)
2019
The Signing
2009
Anger Me
2006
as Himself
Step Across the Border
1990
as Butterfly Wing
Meet The Kuchar Brothers
2006
A Poet from the Lower East Side
1997
as Self
Going Home
1972
as Himself
Doc
2008
as Himself
Tapes
2020
Vertigo
2022
Journey to Lithuania
1971
as Himself
George: The Story of George Maciunas and Fluxus
2018
as Self
Salvador Dalí at Work
1964
as Self
Song of Avignon
1998
as Self
Cinema and Sanctuary
2019
as Self
Jonas Mekas in Paris 10/97
1998
Michael Snow Up Close
1996
as Himself
A Report from Venice
2015
The Misfits - 30 Years of Fluxus
as Self
I Had Nowhere to Go
2016
as Himself
Jonas Towards Broadway
2019
Tuesday Jan. 9, 2007
2007
as Self
Postcard from America
1975
Axiom of Choice
2003
as Self
Award
1992
as Himself
My Country is Cinema
1998
as Self
The Song of Avila
1967
as Narrator
Notes on the Buffalo Conference: “Autobiography in American Independent Cinema”
1973
Reminiscences of Jonas Mekas
2016
as Self
Visionaries
2010
as Himself
Four Shadows
1978
Keep singing: a tribute to Jonas Mekas
2019
Jonas
1968
as Himself
Requiem for a Manual Typewriter
2000
as Himself
A Letter to Penny Arcade
2001
The Lamb
as Self
Jonas in the Brig
1965
as Himself
About Jonas Mekas
Jonas Mekas (24-12-1922 - 23-1-2019) was born in the farming village of Semeniškiai, Lithuania. In 1944, he and his brother Adolfas were taken by the Nazis to a forced labor camp in Elmshorn, Germany. After the War he studied philosophy at the University of Mainz. At the end of 1949 the UN Refugee Organization brought both brothers to New York City, where they settled down in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Two months after his arrival in New York he borrowed money to buy his first Bolex camera and began to record brief moments of his life. He soon go… With 159 credits spanning from 1961 to 2025, Jonas Mekas has appeared in 158 films and 1 TV show.
Fans searching for Jonas Mekas movies, Jonas Mekas filmography, or the latest projects starring Jonas Mekas can stream many of these titles on CineFlixo, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Jonas Mekas Movies
- ORG (1979) — as Self (archive footage)
- Cinématon (1978) — as N°1590
- As I Was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000) — as Narrator (voice)
- Notes on an American Film Director at Work (2008) — as Self
- The Velvet Underground (2021) — as Self
Where to Watch Jonas Mekas Films
Most Jonas Mekas movies and series are available to stream on CineFlixo in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Jonas Mekas, check our movies catalogue and browse page.