Ken Jacobs Movies

A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely...

An epic portrait of the New York avant-garde art scene of the 60s.

Using the words and ideas of great filmmakers, from archival interviews with Alfred Hitchcock and Robert Bresson to new interviews with Mike Leigh,...

Jonas Mekas adjusts to a life in exile in New York in his autobiographical film, shot between 1949 and 1963.

A man fondles objects, looks at himself in the mirror, poses in different clothes, smiles and makes faces at the camera while his voice on the...

In this entrancing documentary on performance artist, photographer and underground filmmaker Jack Smith, photographs and rare clips of Smith's...

This exhibition focuses on Jonas Mekas’ 365 Day Project, a succession of films and videos in calendar form. Every day as of January 1st, 2007...

An anthology of one-minute films created by 60 international filmmakers on the theme of the death of cinema. Intended as an ode to 35mm, the film was...

Little Stabs at Happiness is a collection of silent shorts Jacobs shot from the period of 1959-1963. Jaunty tunes (and a somber reflection) accompany...

A film collage tracing the story of the lives, loves, and deaths within the artistic community surrounding Jonas Mekas.

Not a documentary in the strictest sense of the word. Rather, it is a journey through the world of the artist Jonas Mekas - one of the exponents of...

For over 70 years, Jonas Mekas, internationally known as the "godfather" of avant-garde cinema, documented his life in what came to be known as his...

An adult decides to escape the pressures of life and return to his old bedroom at his parents' house.

Our daughter Nisi and son Aza happened to both be staying at our loft on Chambers Street when fundamentalist Islam struck. A friend observing the...

Description by Ken Jacobs: Shelley Duvall is Olive Oyl is the fourth in a series of shorts (Popeye Sees 3D; Pappy Sees 3D, Too; Sweepea’s...

Assisted by Nisi Ariana, 24 minutes

"Abstract Expressionist Cinema"

A story told by director Ken Jacobs but without conventional storyline. Using a modified magic lantern, an early type of image projector developed in...

Director Jonas Mekas travels through New York nights, through apartments, studios, backstage rooms, galleries, bars, and clubs. Encountering old...

Using his trademark flicker method, Ken Jacobs pays homage to the oldest type of color film, Kodachrome (whose production was discontinued in 2009)...