Portrait Serie - Jonas Mekas

All the Cats Join In

August 1946 •English

A hep teen hears a tune on the jukebox at the malt shop and calls his girl; She rounds up a crowd and soon the whole place is jumping.

Land Without Bread

December 1933 •Spanish

An exploration —manipulated and staged— of life in Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain, as it was in 1932. Insalubrity, misery and lack of opportunities provoke the emigration of young people and the solitude of those who remain in the desolation of one of the poorest and least developed Spanish regions at that time. (Silent short, voiced in 1937 and 1996.)

The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat

June 1896 •French

A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

Art Through Our Eyes

October 2016 •Malay

As an omnibus of short films, Art Through Our Eyes is inspired by the art collection found at the National Gallery Singapore. Each of the five directors – Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Brillante Mendoza, Eric Khoo, Ho Yuhang and Joko Anwar – handpicked a masterpiece from the 19th and 20th century as inspiration for their short films.

Weaving Women

December 1905 •Macedonian

A group of Macedonian women are shown hard at work.

Jorden är platt

March 2019 •Swedish

Hakob Hovnatanyan

January 1967 •Armenian

Exploring the art of Armenian portraitist Hakob Hovnatanyan, Parajanov revives the culture of Tbilisi of the 19th century.

Fanalysis

March 2002 •English

Actor/cult icon Bruce Campbell examines the world of fan conventions and what makes a fan into a fanatic.

Daybreak Express

January 1953 •English

Set to a classic Duke Ellington recording "Daybreak Express", this is a five-minute short of the soon-to-be-demolished Third Avenue elevated subway station in New York City.

An Experiment in Leisure

November 2016 •Dutch

An Experiment in Leisure explores the link between free time and creativity, between leisure and the kind of imaginative contemplation it facilitates.

Interiors

March 2017 •English

"It’s remarkably contagious thinking about how much I’m willing to belong to the ones I love," says Tennis frontwoman Alaina Moore in this beautiful short-film, 'Interiors', which features music from the band’s 'Yours Conditionally’ album, and was created in collaboration with Vinyl Me, Please.

Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story

July 1987 •English

The final 17 years of American singer and musician Karen Carpenter, performed almost entirely by modified Barbie dolls.

At Your Fingertips: Cylinders

January 1970 •English

Instructive short on using cylinders to construct all manner of fun objects.

Stain

June 2022 •

A woman is stuck in a world full of stains, spots, and repetitive thoughts.

Scream

June 1997 •English

MS-DOS demoscene short film that showcases computer animation and music.

Virhe

August 1999 •English

Windows demoscene short film that showcases computer animation and music.

Love Creation Mk2 - Urban Love

December 1997 •English

MS-DOS demoscene short film that showcases computer animation and music.

Timeless

February 1994 •English

MS-DOS demoscene short film that showcases computer animation and music.

Rock 'N' Roll Goldmine: The Sixties

January 1986 •English

A history of rock music during the 1960s, covering everything from the British Invasion that began with the Beatles to the psychedelic sound from San Francisco.

Believe It or Not #12

September 1931 •English

Traveling to North Africa, Ripley offers views of The Meeting Place of the Dead in Morocco, a jail for nagging wives, a village with houses made of tin cans, and a sultan with many wives and children.