Film
In the Mirror of Maya Deren
Counter Cinema
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.
In the Mirror of Maya Deren
D: Martina Kudlácek, Austria/Switzerland/Germany 2001, 103 min, German subtitles
A documentary portrait of the legendary filmmaker and voodoo expert Maya Deren, a central figure of the American avantgarde of the 1940s and 1950s. Essay-like images from the locations where she worked and conversations with her contemporaries in the USA and Haiti reconstruct the fascinating life history of the passionate activist of artistic film.
Followed by: talk with Shaheen Merali, curator, and director Monika Treut
