Jonas Mekas’ residency at the BFI London Film Festival
18-24 October, 2011. BFI London Film Festival this year premieres in the UK film by Jonas Mekas “Sleepless Nights Stories”. The new film invites viewers on a tour through Mekas’ nightlife, bringing together twenty-five stories of life, love and friendship. The festival programme includes also screening of “Correspondence: Jonas Mekas – JL Guerin”, based on letters from two acclaimed directors, which offer a remarkable portrait of their attitudes to the craft of filmmaking and the world around them. There is one more fantastic opportunity also to see on a big screen film by Pip Chodorov “Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film”. The director offers a cheery, personal perspective, leaving out some names but including great interviews with Jonas Mekas, Ken Jacobs, Peter Kubelka, Robert Breer and many more.
"In “Sleepless Nights Stories” Jonas Mekas' opening confession that he suffers from insomnia will come as no surprise to anyone aware of his singular contribution to cinema. Over 50 years he has established and promoted a viable culture for truly independent and avant-garde filmmaking, and his recent acceptance by the art world has brought a long overdue wave of attention and success. “Sleepless Nights Stories” is the latest in the series of long-form diary films that Mekas has been making since his arrival in the USA in 1949. Eating, drinking, singing and dancing with friends, the tireless octogenarian is full of life and wonder, casually weaving together contemporary folk tales collected during travels across the globe. Marina Abramovic fantasises about domesticity, Lee Stringer recounts an episode from his crack-addicted past, and the protagonist toasts the 'working class voice' of Amy Winehouse. Treating significant and inconsequential moments with equal import, Mekas' modern-day saga presents the first episodes from his ambitious '1001 Nights' project.” (Mark Webber)
Director Jonas Mekas
Cast Marina Abramovic, Louis Garrel, Björk, Harmony Korine, Patti Smith
Country USA
Distributor ReVoir
Running time 114min
Year 2011
SLEEPLESS NIGHTS STORIES
Tuesday, October 18, 9pm, Vue Screen, 3 Cranbourn Street, London WC2H 7AL
Thursday, October 20, 7pm, Studio at BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, South Bank, London SE1 8XT
Saturday, October 22, 9pm, NFT3, BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, South Bank, London SE1 8XT
To book your ticket: http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/1804
CORRESPONDENCE: JONAS MEKAS – JL GUERIN
Wednesday, October 19, 6.30pm, NFT3, BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, South Bank, London SE1 8XT
Thursday, October 20, 3.45pm, NFT3, BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, South Bank, London SE1 8XT
To book your ticket: http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/1657
FREE RADICALS: A HISTORY OF EXPERIMENTAL FILM
Monday, October 24, 10:30am, NFT3, BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, South Bank, London SE1 8XT
To book your ticket: http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/1955
