Presented by Facets Cinematheque, Lithuanian American TV, and the Lithuanian Consulate General in Chicago, this series of Lithuanian films runs Friday through Thursday, May 20 through 26, at Facets Cinematheque. Unless otherwise noted, all films are in Lithuanian with subtitles; for more information call 773-281-4114.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Vytautas V. Landsbergis will be in attendance for An Evening About Jonas Mekas, which includes his video documentaries Anthology of Jonas Mekas (65 min.) and New York Is My Dog (30 min.). “It’s easy for some Americans to forget that experimental filmmaker and film proselytizer Jonas Mekas was once a Lithuanian peasant,” writes Jonathan Rosenbaum. “And most of the charm and interest of these ramshackle portraits, both culled from the same 2004 shoot, is the spectacle of him speaking, drinking, pontificating, and cavorting like one in his familiar New York surroundings. (As Mekas explains, he views his Lower East Side neighborhood like a village.) There’s a grab bag of clips from his diary films, in which he speaks English, but these fragments don’t work very well outside their original contexts.” (Wed 5/25, 7 PM)
