The Film-Makers' Cooperative
Encyclopedia
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
by Jonas Mekas
Jonas Mekas
Jonas Mekas is a Lithuanian-born American filmmaker, writer, and curator who has often been called "the godfather of American avant-garde cinema." His work has been exhibited in museums and festivals across Europe and America.-Biography:...
, Shirley Clarke
Shirley Clarke
Shirley Clarke was an American independent filmmaker.-Early life:Born Shirley Brimberg in New York City, Shirley Clarke was the daughter of a Polish-immigrant father who made his fortune in manufacturing. Her mother was the daughter of a multimillionaire Jewish manufacturer and inventor. Her...
, Stan Brakhage
Stan Brakhage
James Stanley Brakhage , better known as Stan Brakhage, was an American non-narrative filmmaker who is considered to be one of the most important figures in 20th century experimental film....
, Gregory Markopoulos
Gregory Markopoulos
Gregory J. Markopoulos was a Greek-American experimental filmmaker. Born in Toledo, Ohio to Greek immigrant parents, Markopoulos began making 8 mm films at an early age. He attended USC Film School in the late 1940s, and went on to become a co-founder — with Jonas Mekas, Shirley Clarke, Stan...
, Lloyd Michael Williams
Lloyd Williams (filmmaker)
Lloyd Michael Williams is an American experimental filmmaker. He was born in 1940 in Brooklyn, NY and grew up on Long Island.He was with Jonas Mekas, when The Film-Makers' Cooperative was born. William's works "Line of Apogee" , "Rainbow's Children" , "Wipes" , "the Creation" and "Opus#5" were...
and other filmmakers to distribute avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
films through a centralised archive.
Avant Garde & Experimental
"We don't want rosy films - we want them the color of blood"(first manifesto of New American Cinema Group, September 30, 1962).
The Film-Makers' Cooperative holds the world's largest collection of avantgarde and experimental films
Experimental film
Experimental film or experimental cinema is a type of cinema. Experimental film is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. Its origins can be found in European avant-garde movements of the twenties. Experimental cinema has built its history through the texts of theoreticians...
, with over 5,000 titles by more than 825 filmmakers. The collection includes work authored on 35mm, 16mm, 8mm, video and DVD. The Cooperative rents out the films in its collection to cinématheques, film festivals, schools, universities, museums, and other art institutions in the United States and around the world.
Based upon a belief common to the founding members that the "official cinema is running out of breath" and has become "morally corrupt, aesthetically obsolete, thematically superficial, temperamentally boring" (as the original 1962 manifesto would have it), the Film-Makers' Cooperative was a key institution in the heyday of American experimental or "underground" film in the 1960s and 1970s, and has continued to operate on a non-exclusive basis to ensure the existence of an alternative, non-commercial film culture since then.
Its non-exclusive principle of anti-censorship makes the Film-Makers' Cooperative open to anyone who wishes to become a member.
The New York Film-Makers' Cooperative has inspired similar initiatives both within the United States (Canyon Cinema
Canyon Cinema
Canyon Cinema is a San Francisco based filmmakers' cooperative specializing in the distribution of avant-garde and experimental film. The organization was instigated in about 1960 by Bruce Baillie as an exhibition outlet for independent film, and was formally established as a non-profit...
in San Francisco) and abroad ( The London Film-Makers' Co-operative
London Film-Makers' Co-op
The London Film-makers' Co-op, or LFMC, was a British film-making workshop founded in 1966. It ceased to exist in 1999 when it merged with London Video Arts to form LUX....
in England, New Brunswick Film-Makers' Cooperative in Canada, ABCinema in Denmark, and elsewhere).
Besides distributing its members' films, the Film-Makers' Cooperative is continuously involved in film preservation and DVD release projects, and in arranging screenings and events in and around New York City.
Directors & Board Members
Founding Director: Jonas MekasJonas Mekas
Jonas Mekas is a Lithuanian-born American filmmaker, writer, and curator who has often been called "the godfather of American avant-garde cinema." His work has been exhibited in museums and festivals across Europe and America.-Biography:...
Executive Director: M.M. Serra
Members of the Board:
- Anne Hanavan - President
- Bradley Eros - Vice President
- Lynne SachsLynne SachsLynne Sachs is an American experimental filmmaker who makes films, videos, installations and web projects exploring the relationship between personal observations and broader historical experiences. She is known for weaving together poetry, collage, painting, politics and layered sound design...
- Treasurer - Donna Cameron
- Amy Lowles
- Peter Cramer
- George Smith
- Jasmine Hirsh
- Scott Nyerges
- Joel Schlemowitz
- Jack Waters
- Colen Fitzgibbon
- Katherine Bauer
- Katie Torn
Advisory Board:
- Charles S. CohenCharles S. CohenCharles S. Cohen is the CEO of Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation and owns the four major design centers throughout the country – Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles, D&D Building in New York City, Decorative Center Houston in Texas and Design Center of the Americas in Florida.Recently Cohen...
- Jonas MekasJonas MekasJonas Mekas is a Lithuanian-born American filmmaker, writer, and curator who has often been called "the godfather of American avant-garde cinema." His work has been exhibited in museums and festivals across Europe and America.-Biography:...
- Jeffrey DeitchDeitch ProjectsDeitch Projects was a contemporary art gallery in New York City founded by Jeffrey Deitch.-History:Since opening with a performance by Vanessa Beecroft in February 1996, the gallery has presented nearly one hundred and eighteen solo exhibitions and projects, ten thematic exhibitions, and a few...
- Ken & Flo Jacobs
- Bill MorrisonBill MorrisonBill Morrison is an American comic book artist and writer, and co-founder of Bongo Comics . He currently serves as creative director of Bongo Comics....
- Rohesia Hamilton Metcalfe
- Jim Hubbard