Jonas Mekas was a vitally important figure in the American experimental film movement of the '50s and '60s; in addition to making a number of acclaimed films of his own, Mekas was the guiding light behind New York City's Filmmakers Cooperative, the Anthology Film Archives, and Film Culture magazine. Mekas explored his own remarkable story in Lost Lost Lost, a feature-length "diary film" compiled from footage Mekas shot informally between 1949 (when he first arrived in the United States as a "displaced person" after fleeing Lithuania during World War II) and 1963 (when he moved downtown to Manhattan and fell in with a bohemian crowd, including Allen Ginsberg and LeRoi Jones, that encouraged his passion for the arts). The film explores both Mekas' efforts to make a life for himself in his new home and his sense of wonder at the possibilities of life in New York City. Completed in 1976, Lost Lost Lost's aging elements were restored in 2004, and the film received a brief theatrical revival in 2005.
by Mark Deming
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