Jonas Mekas (b. Born in Semeniskiai, Lithuania 1922; d. New York City 2019) was without a doubt the world’s foremost advocate for personal/poetic/underground/avant-garde cinema. In his weekly Village Voice column “Movie Journal” (1959–1971), he chronicled the rise of the New American Cinema. As a courageous exhibitor he championed the (at the time) controversial works of Maya Deren, Gregory Markopoulos, Barbara Rubin, Jack Smith and Andy Warhol. To this day, New York’s Anthology Film Archives (founded by Mekas in 1970) continues his vision with an astounding 900+ screenings annually in its Lower East Side edifice.
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