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Quote by Jonas Mekas

“Most of my videos consist of fragments, one or two minutes long. They are haikus or sketches. I have thousands.”

Quote by Jonas Mekas

Author

Jonas Mekas is a Lithuanian-American filmmaker known for his surrealistic and poetic documentaries. His works often explore personal memory, family, and the life of New York City. Born on December 24, 1922, Mekas is one of the pioneers of the Direct Cinema movement. more

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“Place means nothing to me. I can be at home anywhere.”

Mean I Can Home

Author:Jonas Mekas

“In 1962, we created the Filmmakers' Co-Op because nobody wanted to distribute our films. If we had the Internet in those days, we wouldn't have needed the Co-Op.”

Ifs Wanted Film Internet Needed Filmmaker

Author:Jonas Mekas

“There is no other way to break the frozen cinematic conventions than through a complete derangement of the official cinematic senses.”

Way Break Senses Officials Conventions Frozen Cinematic

Book:Movie Journal: The Rise of New American Cinema, 1959-1971

Source: Movie Journal: The Rise of New American Cinema, 1959-1971

“Some cameras are heavier and need to be on tripods. Others are small enough to hide in your pocket. There are places where you don't want to feel like you are disturbing anything, so I may use a camera like that.”

Want Needs Feels May Enough Use Like You Cameras Pockets Disturbing Tripods

Author:Jonas Mekas

“I'm working in a form of cinema that can be described, and has been described, as a diaristic form of cinema. In other words, with material from my own life. I walk through life with my camera, and occasionally I film. I never think about scripts, never think about films, making films.”

Thinking Has Beens Film Form My Own Walks Materials Cameras Scripts Cinema My Own Life

Author:Jonas Mekas

“I am very active on the Internet. In 2007, I made one film every day and posted it on my website. That was a 365-day project, really exhausting, but I still put a lot of stuff on - from life, friends, my own life.”

Made Stills Film Stuff My Own Internet Projects Active Website My Own Life Exhausting

Author:Jonas Mekas

“Once you change the technology - from a film camera to a video camera, or from an 8-mm camera to 16 mm - you change completely the content. With 8 mm, a leaf on a tree will be made up of maybe four grains. So it's very impressionistic, almost like Seurat. If you switch to 16 mm, the technology gives you hundreds of grains on that leaf.”

Ifs Giving Made Film Technology Four Tree Cameras Video Grain Leafs Video Cameras

Author:Jonas Mekas

“I'm not so much in the future as always in the present. The future always takes care of itself. What I do now with my video camera, it can only record what is happening now. I am celebrating reality and the essence of the moment. And that's the greatest challenge that I have.”

Moments Reality Care Challenges Records Happenings Essence Cameras Take Care Video Celebrate Video Cameras

Author:Jonas Mekas

“I'm a filmmaker, but my working procedures are different. All my basic structuring is done during the filming. You know, how long I keep the shot, the exposure or the speed - slower or faster, etc. That's structuring. And then there is a second stage of structuring that comes later when I begin to put those pieces together.”

Knows Long Different Done Together Know How Pieces Stage Shots Speed Faster Filmmaker Etc Exposure Procedures

Author:Jonas Mekas

“Loneliness is necessary for pure poetry.”

Loneliness Pure

Book:The Collected Books of Jack Spicer

Source: The Collected Books of Jack Spicer