| Director: | KD Davison |
|---|---|
| Production: | Kunhardt Films
(KD Davison,
Elyse Frenchman, Leanne Cherundolo, Matthew O. Henderson George Kunhardt, Teddy Kunhardt,
Peter Kunhardt, Sebastian Mekas, Oona Mekas)
|
| Running Time: | 98’ |
| Language: | English, Lithuanian |
| Country: | USA |
| Main Cast: | Amy Taubin,
Peter Bogdanovich,
John Waters,
Martin Scorsese,
Ken and Flo Jacobs,
MM Serra,
Jim Jarmusch,
Penny Arcade,
Lee Ranaldo,
Phong Bui,
Edita Mekaitė-Rubinienė, Ina Mekaitė-Guogienė, Greg Smulewicz Zucker, Lolita Jablonskienė, Vytautas Landsbergis, Hollis Melton,
Oona Mekas,
Sebastian Mekas,
John Mhiripiri,
Marina Abramovic |
| Cinematographer: | Bill Kirstein |
| Editor: | Michael Levine |
| Music: | Osei Essed,
Saul Simon MacWilliams
|
| Visual Effects: | Chris Tucci |
Cinema
Fragments of Paradise
Venice Classics
Synopsis
For over 70 years, Lithuanian filmmaker Jonas Mekas documented his life in what came to be known as his diary films. From his arrival in New York as a displaced person in 1949 to his death in 2019, he chronicled the trauma and loss of exile while pioneering institutions to support the growth of independent film in the United States. Internationally known as the “godfather” of avant-garde cinema, he inspired countless independent artists, from Martin Scorsese, Peter Bogdanovich, Andy Warhol and John Waters, to Yoko Ono, John Lennon and Jim Jarmusch—all drawn to his indefatigable spirit and belief in the transformative power of cinema. But internally, he struggled. The traumas of his early life and exile stayed with him. Fragments of Paradise is an intimate look at his life and work constructed from thousands of hours of his own video and film diaries—including never-before- seen tapes and unpublished audio recordings. It is a story about finding beauty amidst profound loss, and a man who tried to make sense of it all... with a camera.
Director’s Statement
I spent the pandemic in Jonas’ sprawling archive, a marathon viewing over the course of a year. I have often wondered if this is how he would have preferred his work be seen. Immersive and in its totality. Fragments of Paradise is then itself a fragment... a window onto “some of the beauty” Jonas never failed to find. In our present moment, defined as it is by crisis, the themes at the heart of Jonas’ work, themes like exile, loss, and yes, the relentless pursuit of beauty, take on a universal quality. There is something to be gleaned from his almost religious insistence on the importance of momentary, fragile things—finding joy in mundane experience—as the key to a happy life.
Production/Distribution
PRODUCTION: George Kunhardt, Teddy Kunhardt, Peter Kunhardt, KD Davison, Elyse Frenchman, Leanne Cherundolo, Matthew Henderson, Oona Mekas, Sebastian Mekas – Kunhardt Films
48 Wheeler Ave, 3rd Floor
10570 – Pleasantville, United States of America
Tel. +1 9142386800
Mob. +1 8455535019
george@kunhardtfilms.com
http://www.kunhardtfilms.com
WORLD SALES: Jason Ishikawa – Cinetic Media
26 Broadway, 14th Floor
10004 – New York, United States of America
Tel. +1 2122047979
Mob. +1 3238707979
jason@cineticmedia.com
http://www.cineticmedia.com
