Anthology Film Archives

Film Screenings / Programs / Retrospectives

ADOLFAS MEKAS CENTENNIAL

May 30 – June 5

May 30-June 5, 2025

This year marks the centennial of the birth of Adolfas Mekas, the filmmaker and teacher whose importance within the realm of experimental cinema was comparable to that of his more widely celebrated brother, Jonas Mekas. Adolfas emigrated from Lithuania with Jonas in 1949, and would go on to make numerous invaluable films, both in collaboration with Jonas (GUNS OF THE TREES and THE BRIG) and on his own (including HALLELUJAH THE HILLS, WINDFLOWERS, GOING HOME, THE DOUBLE-BARRELLED DETECTIVE STORY, and COMPAÑERAS AND COMPAÑEROS). He also co-founded the magazine “Film Culture” with his brother, edited films by other directors, collaborated with his wife, Pola Chapelle, and, starting in 1971, taught at Bard College, where he founded the Film Department.

A seminal figure in the history of independent cinema, Adolfas Mekas left behind a fascinating and wide-ranging body of film work, and perhaps most importantly, inspired generations of filmmakers, artists, and scholars through his legendary classes and lectures at Bard, where he taught until his death in 2011. In tribute to his life and work, Anthology presents this extensive retrospective.

Co-presented with Lithuanian Film Center, which has provided generous support for the retrospective. Very special thanks to Sean Mekas; Sara Reid; and Gražina Michnevičiūtė (Lithuanian Cultural Attaché at the Consulate General of the Republic of Lithuania in New York).

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