He Stands in a Desert Counting the Seconds of his Life (1986) by Jonas Mekas
Thursday, January 30, 1986, 8:00 pm
He Stands in a Desert Counting the Seconds of his Life
By Jonas Mekas
West Coast Premier.
He Stands in a Desert… is Jonas Mekas ‘ latest installment in his on-going film diary. The 22-hour long film uses footage covering the period of 1969-1984 organized into 124 brief sketches, each to 2 minutes long. It consists of scenes, people, happenings, events that Mekas observes from a slight distance. Included are portraits of dozens of his friends such as Andy Warhol, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Jackie Onassis, George and Mike Kuchar, Peter Kubelka and many others. He Stands in a Desert… can be seen as the summation of the public life of a very involved member of New York’s cultural and social community.
Jonas Mekas is one of the pioneer figures in America’s experimental cinema. Founder and editor of Film Culture, founder and director of Anthology Film Archive, for 30 years Mekas has provided support and nurturing for the film community he so dearly loves.