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In the Mirror of Maya Deren

Directed by Martina Kudlacek

Austria-Czech Republic-Switzerland-Germany | 103 minutes | 2001

English and French with English subtitles

Deemed "Fellini and Bergman wrapped in one gloriously possessed body," Maya Deren is arguably the most important and innovative avant-garde filmmaker in the history of American cinema. Using locations from the Hollywood hills to Haiti in the 1940s and 50s, Deren made such mesmerizing films as At Land, Ritual In Transfigured Time, and her masterpiece, Meshes of the Afternoon, which won a prestigious international experimental filmmaking prize at the 1947 Cannes Film Festival. Starting with excerpts from these films, In The Mirror seamlessly and effectively interweaves archival footage and observances from acolytes and contemporaries such as Stan Brakhage and Jonas Mekas with an original score by experimental jazz legend John Zorn. Documentarian Martina Kudlácek has fashioned not only a fascinating portrait of a groundbreaking and influential artist, but a pitch-perfect introduction to her strikingly beautiful and poetic body of work.
Foreign Title Im Spiegel der Maya Deren
Director Martina Kudlacek
Countries of Production Austria-Czech Republic-Switzerland-Germany
Year of Presentation 2001
Language(s) English and French with English subtitles
Premiere Status
Runtime 103 minutes
Principal Cast Stan Brakhage, Jonas Mekas, Amos Vogel, Chao Li Chi
Award(s)

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Viennale

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