directed by Jonas Mekas, experimental documentary, 82 min, eng subtitles
written by Jonas Mekas
with Jonas Mekas, Adolfas Mekas, Pola Chapelle, Peter Kubelka, Hermann Nitsch, Annette Michelson
Twenty-seven years after fleeing the country to escape from persecution by both the Nazis and the Soviets, avant-garde pioneer filmmaker Jonas Mekas and brother Adolfas return to their birthplace in Lithuania. Following their arrest in Germany and a year in a labour camp, they acquired the status of ‘Displaced Persons’, a trauma addressed in most of their works. Jonas Mekas completed his philosophy studies in Germany and both brothers subsequently emigrated to New York in 1949, starting their film diaries and capturing their environment to compensate for the feeling of loss. The film’s first part shows Mekas’ early years in America with footage of immigrants in Brooklyn. The second part was shot in 1971 in Lithuania, when Mekas’ work was chosen as an entry to the Moscow Film Festival and Jonas and Adolfas were allowed to visit their family who had been under surveillance since the brothers’ escape. There is no direct depiction of contemporary Lithuania, it is only shown through the memories of a Displaced Person coming home after a quarter of a century. The third part begins with a parenthesis in Elmshorn, Germany, where they spent a year in a labour camp. In the end, they arrive in Vienna to meet their friends, where the footage ends with the burning of Vienna fruit market. Mekas’ voiceover accompanies the audience in this journey through the director’s perception of home, memory, culture, childhood and being a Displaced Person.
After the screening, the researcher and art critic Benjamin Léon will talk about Mekas' work. (details here)
Awards: Added to the Film Preservation List of the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 2006 for its "cultural, aesthetic and historical significance”.