Jonas Mekas
Known for Directing · 166 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 (165)
Gena Rowlands: A Life on Film
2019
as Self
Jonas Keeps Shooting Around
2002
as Himself
A Poet from the Lower East Side
1997
as Self
Guest
2011
as Self
Empire
1965
as Self (uncredited)
Shooting Guns
1966
Nitsch
2018
My Conversations on Film
2013
as Himself
Notes on the Buffalo Conference: “Autobiography in American Independent Cinema”
1973
The Velvet Underground
2021
as Self
The Lamb
as Self
George: The Story of George Maciunas and Fluxus
2018
as Self
River of Fundament
2014
as Wake Guest
Imagine
1972
as Self
Doc
2008
as Himself
As I Was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty
2000
as Narrator (voice)
J. Mekas
1980
as Self
No. 18: Mahagonny
1980
as Self
Filmstudio, mon amour
2015
as Sé stesso
9/11: Life Under Attack
2021
as Self
Just Visiting This Planet
1991
Anger Me
2006
as Himself
The Sin of Jesus
1961
Cinématon
1978
as N°1590
Self-Portrait
1980
as Himself
Imperfect Film
2006
Últimas correspondencias
2016
as Self
Salvador Dalí at Work
1964
as Self
Going Home
1972
as Himself
Notes for a Déjà vu
2022
Re: Maciunas and Fluxus
2011
Jonas in the Desert
1994
as Self
Reminiscences of Jonas Mekas
2016
as Self
Jonas Towards Broadway
2019
I Had Nowhere to Go
2016
as Himself
3.11 A Sense of Home Films
2011
as Himself (voice) (segment "Mt. Ventoux")
Portrait Serie - Jonas Mekas
2010
as himself
All About Bolex
2015
Journey to Lithuania
1971
as Himself
Diane the Zebra Woman
1962
Home Movies 1971-81
1985
Laboratorium Anthology
1999
as Himself
Notes in Lifestyle Margins
2002
Andy Warhol Screen Tests
1965
as Self
Belladonna
1989
365 Day Project
2007
as Self
Viva Jonas!
as Himself
Last Interview Film of Jonas Mekas/version 1
2019
as Self
Filmmakers
1969
as Himself
Vertigo
2022
Jonas Mekas Anthology
2022
as Jonas Mekas
Jonas' Independence Speech at the Anniversary of the Filmmaker's Cooperative
2006
Jonas
1968
as Himself
Jonas Mekas in Budapest
1993
as Himself
Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol
1990
as Self
Self Discovery for Social Survival
2019
as Narrator (voice)
What Is Cinema?
2013
as Self
Invocation: Maya Deren
1986
as Himself
Song of Avignon
1998
as Self
Nam June Paik: Lessons from the Video Master
2006
as Self
Graffiti Museum Bronx, NYC
2006
Notes on an American Film Director at Work
2008
as Self
![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
Postcard from America
1975
Back from New York
2021
as Himself
The Invisible Father
2021
as Self (archive footage)
Visionaries
2010
as Himself
A Mixtape for Stom
2025
Fragments of Paradise
2022
as Self (archive footage)
Excavating Taylor Mead
2005
as Self
ORG
1979
as Self (archive footage)
Tapes
2020
Keep singing: a tribute to Jonas Mekas
2019
Film: The Living Record of Our Memory
2022
as Self
Jonas in the Brig
1965
as Himself
Nico Icon
1995
as Self
A Report from Venice
2015
My Mars Bar Movie
2011
as himself
My Country is Cinema
1998
as Self
Kreutzer Sonata
2006
Diaries, Notes, and Sketches
1968
as Self / self
My Birthday
2014
Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV
2023
as Self (archive footage)
Taping for As I was Moving Ahead…
2006
Up Your Legs Forever
1971
as Self - Legs
A Matter of Baobab
1968
A Letter to Penny Arcade
2001
Question a Day
2008
Makeshift (for Mekas)
2019
Jonas Mekas in Paris 10/97
1998
Strong Medicine
1981
Zefiro Torna or Scenes from the Life of George Maciunas (Fluxus)
1992
Persistence of Vision
1984
as Self
Lost, Lost, Lost
1976
as Self
Cinématon n°1590 : Jonas Mekas
Reminiscences from Germany
2012
as Self
Interview and Reading: Jonas Mekas
1991
as Himself
Notes on Marie Menken
2006
as Self
End of the Millennium Espresso
2006
Jonas in the Jungle
2013
as Self
The Song of Avila
1967
as Narrator
3 Friends Singing (...in the Desert)
2019
The Song of Central Park
2006
as Himself (voice)
Requiem for a Manual Typewriter
2000
as Himself
Tuesday Jan. 9, 2007
2007
as Self
Jonas Mekas, Friday 13th October
1996
as Himself
It Came from Kuchar
2009
as Self (archive footage)
Elegy for J.M.
2019
Axiom of Choice
2003
as Self
Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis
2007
as Self
Step Across the Border
1990
as Butterfly Wing
In the Mirror of Maya Deren
2002
as Himself
Letter to John from Jonas
1999
Dirt
1965
Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film
2011
as Himself
Tiny Tim: King for a Day
2020
as Himself
Sunday December 30, 2007
2007
as Self
Not in Our Name
2003
as himself
The Love Merchant
1966
as Lounge Patron
The Queen of Sheba Meets the Atom Man
1981
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 166 credits spanning from 1961 to 2025, Jonas Mekas has appeared in 165 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 Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Jonas Mekas Movies
- Gena Rowlands: A Life on Film (2019) — as Self
- Jonas Keeps Shooting Around (2002) — as Himself
- A Poet from the Lower East Side (1997) — as Self
- Guest (2011) — as Self
- Empire (1965) — as Self (uncredited)
Where to Watch Jonas Mekas Films
Most Jonas Mekas movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV 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.