Jonas Mekas, the Godfather of Avant-Garde Cinema, Passes Away

Lithuanian filmmaker Jonas Mekas, who is widely regarded as the godfather of American avant-garde cinema, has died aged 96. Fleeing the Nazis and the wartime conditions of his homeland, Mekas moved to New York in his early 20s where he began recording moments of his life with his Bolex 16mm camera. Soon, he was working with the countercultural luminaries of his day including Warhol, Dalí, Ginsberg, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, among others. Creating over 60 films in his lifetime, Mekas’ work influenced the likes of John Waters, Harmony Korine and Jim Jarmusch (who was interviewed alongside Mekas for AnOther) and will doubtless go on to inspire generations of filmmakers to come.

Read our interview with Mekas from 2017 here.