Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis

The theme of the Counter Cinema section of the programme is the active protest against the dominant narrative tradition of Hollywood. Unconventional film languages sketch biographies of individuals in New York who have resisted the pull of the mainstream – pioneering figures of the avantgarde such as the filmmaker Maya Deren and the artist Jack Smith. The alternative history of New York also includes films about feminism.

Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis

Director: Mary Jordan, USA 2006, 96 min, documentary film, OV

Jack Smith (1932-1989) was an icon of independent American experimental cinema. After his banned masterpiece "Flaming Creatures" from 1964, he never again completed a film. Mary Jordan's documentary film in the psychedelic aesthetic of flower power cinema simultaneously lays out a piece of the moral history of the USA.

- The director will attend the screening -

Supporting film: The Future Is Behind You

D: Abigail Child, USA 2004, 18 min, English, b/w