Directed by Maya Deren

Directed by Maya Deren

8 Episodes

The barrier between waking and dreaming dissolves in the ecstatic, trancelike films of Maya Deren, a legend of the avant-garde who rewrote the rules of cinema in the name of uncompromising personal expression. Combining symbol-laden imagery, intricately choreographed camera movements, time- and space-expanding editing, dance, and ritual, Deren tapped into tantalizing realms of the unconscious in defining works like MESHES OF THE AFTERNOON, AT LAND, and RITUAL IN TRANSFIGURED TIME, giving rapturous visual form to complex psychological states and inspiring a new generation of experimental filmmakers to express their own innermost dreams and desires on-screen.

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Directed by Maya Deren

8 Episodes

  • Meshes of the Afternoon
    14:05
    Meshes of the Afternoon
    Episode 1

    Meshes of the Afternoon

    Episode 1

    Directed by Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid • 1943 • United States
    Starring Maya Deren, Alexander Hammid

    Cinematic trance-maker Maya Deren and her husband Alexander Hammid launched an underground revolution with this avant-garde landmark—shot in their Hollywood home, but a world away from the co...

  • At Land
    15:11
    At Land
    Episode 2

    At Land

    Episode 2

    Directed by Maya Deren • 1944 • United States
    Starring Maya Deren, John Cage, Alexander Hammid

    In this dreamlike psychogeographical journey, legendary avant-garde filmmaker Maya Deren plays a woman who washes up on a beach and encounters a multiplicity of selves.

  • A Study in Choreography for Camera
    02:36
    A Study in Choreography for Camera
    Episode 3

    A Study in Choreography for Camera

    Episode 3

    Directed by Maya Deren • 1945 • United States
    Starring Talley Beatty

    Filmmaker Maya Deren collapses the boundaries of space and time as dancer Talley Beatty leaps miraculously through a series of environments, from a forest to a sculpture-filled museum.

  • Ritual in Transfigured Time
    14:46
    Ritual in Transfigured Time
    Episode 4

    Ritual in Transfigured Time

    Episode 4

    Directed by Maya Deren • 1946 • United States
    Starring Maya Deren, Anaïs Nin, Frank Westbrook

    The most influential of the series of dance films made by pioneering avant-garde filmmaker Maya Deren, RITUAL IN TRANSFIGURED TIME combines intricate choreography with time-distorting cinematic effects ...

  • The Private Life of a Cat
    29:19
    The Private Life of a Cat
    Episode 5

    The Private Life of a Cat

    Episode 5

    Directed by Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid • 1946 • United States

    The original cat video, this experimental documentary captures the feline experience through the eyes of two cats raising a litter of newborn kittens.

  • Meditation on Violence
    12:41
    Meditation on Violence
    Episode 6

    Meditation on Violence

    Episode 6

    Directed by Maya Deren • 1948 • United States
    Starring Chao-Li Chi

    This short study in movement features actor and dancer Chao-Li Chi in an ecstatic demonstration of martial-arts ritual.

  • The Very Eye of Night
    15:15
    The Very Eye of Night
    Episode 7

    The Very Eye of Night

    Episode 7

    Directed by Maya Deren • 1955 • United States
    Starring Don Freisinger, Richard Sandifer, Barbara Levin

    Made in collaboration with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet School, this experimental dance film unfolds in a floating cosmic realm, an expression of director Maya Deren’s desire to “place a dance...

  • Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti
    50:23
    Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti
    Episode 8

    Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti

    Episode 8

    Directed by Maya Deren, Teiji Ito, and Chero Ito • 1993 • United States

    Assembled posthumously from footage shot by experimental filmmaker Maya Deren between 1947 and 1954, this documentary on Haitian vodou ceremonies offers a rare and illuminating glimpse into a vibrant and often misunderstood ...

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