How Anthology Film Archives Keeps Experimental Cinema Alive

By Michael Jacobsohn

The Anthology Film Archives, located on Second Avenue and Second Street in Manhattan, is a rare fixture among downtown screening venues. For over 60 years, it has maintained its mission of preserving and exhibiting independent, experimental, and avant-garde cinema, treating film as a serious art form worthy of preservation and critical study. Its curators are not chasing the latest festival hit, and Oscar nominations carry little weight here.

A visit to this venerable film house evokes memories of when the East Village was a hotbed for independent filmmaking. At that time, an aspiring filmmaker could buy a used 16 mm Bolex camera for under $500. Though these cameras required hand-cranking and produced only short silent clips, many innovative works emerged despite technical limits—some of which are now preserved at the Anthology.

Witnessing the Avant-Garde: A Review of Fogo do Vento
Recently, I attended the Anthology’s New York premiere of Fogo do Vento (Fire of the Wind), a compelling new Portuguese feature directed by Marta Mateus.

Abandoning conventional narrative, Mateus presents a hypnotic portrait of a resilient community of women in Portugal’s Alentejo region. Static shots transform ordinary events, such as grape harvesting and communal rituals, into meditations on memory, labor, and the tensions between tradition and modernity. This fusion of stark rural realism and mythic allegory can be challenging, but it richly rewards patient viewers.

The film evokes a profound sense of place and spiritual intensity that transcends mere entertainment. It is exactly the kind of formally rigorous, demanding work that the Anthology exists to champion—a cinematic experience aligned with the Archive’s long-standing dedication to experimental art.

The Birth of a Film Museum
While downtown Manhattan still hosts several art-house cinemas, the Anthology Film Archives is unique—a globally recognized center dedicated to both the history and future of challenging cinema.

This international center was founded on the vision of Lithuanian filmmaker, poet, and artist Jonas Mekas (1922–2019), often called “the godfather of American avant-garde cinema.” Mekas arrived in New York City in 1949 after surviving a Nazi labor camp. He began documenting daily life, developing a personal, fragmented style of diaristic cinema in landmark films like Walden (1969) and Lost, Lost, Lost (1976). Mekas soon realized that this marginalized form of filmmaking needed a permanent home.

In 1969, Mekas, with philanthropist Jerome Hill and filmmakers/critics P. Adams Sitney, Peter Kubelka, and Stan Brakhage, laid the groundwork for the institution. The founding principle was to treat film as an art form worthy of preservation and scholarly study—making Anthology the first museum in the world devoted exclusively to this idea. The initial iteration, opened in 1970 at Joseph Papp’s Public Theater, centered on the Essential Cinema Repertory, a canon of groundbreaking works screened under optimal conditions to preserve their integrity.

The East Village Incubators
Before Anthology became a permanent institution, the independent film scene thrived in accessible local venues. The Charles Theatre on Avenue B, though primarily a commercial house, became a key hub for underground films in the 1960s. Mekas curated regular screenings of amateur cinema there, providing a crucial public venue for radical new works. This environment inspired artists like Andy Warhol to experiment with 16 mm filmmaking, helping incubate the diaristic (relating to or in the form of a diary) and experimental styles that now populate Anthology’s vaults. Some other notable filmmakers who got their start at the Charles: Kenneth Anger, Jack Smith, Shirley Clarke, Robert Frank, Barbara Rubin, and Yoko Ono.

Another cornerstone was the Millennium Film Workshop, a nonprofit founded in 1966 by filmmaker Ken Jacobs on the Lower East Side. Its mission was to democratize filmmaking by offering low-cost equipment, access to optical printers, and instruction. Howard Guttenplan, who directed the workshop at 66 East 4th Street from 1974 to 2013, established the Personal Cinema Series, a forum where established artists like Stan Brakhage and emerging filmmakers like Todd Haynes and Jim Jarmusch could screen work and engage directly with audiences. While the Charles and Millennium focused on creation and early exhibition, Anthology’s role has always been distinct: preservation and historical context.

The Archives Today: A Continued Commitment
Today, Anthology continues to safeguard this cinematic heritage. The institution screens nearly 900 public programs annually, including the ongoing Essential Cinema Repertory and presentations from contemporary avant-garde filmmakers.

Preservation remains a core mission. Anthology protects an average of 25 films per year and maintains the world’s largest paper collection devoted to the history of avant-garde cinema, accessible to students, scholars, and curators worldwide. Through this meticulous work, the Archives honor Mekas’ legacy while serving as a fortress for the most challenging and innovative cinematic visions.

Despite the presence of other film art houses in our neighborhoods, many could benefit from greater openness to New York’s independent filmmakers. Venues should consider emulating the Charles Theatre and Millennium Film Workshop, which gave emerging voices access to screens when theaters were otherwise underutilized. Such collaboration could enrich local film culture while providing new revenue streams for the theaters themselves.

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Find out more about the Anthology Film Archives: anthologyfilmarchives.org
Find out more about Fogo do Vento:
locarnofestival.ch/festival/program/film.html?fid=477cfaf4-bc20-4a1f-a5e8-76027c2a1928&eid=

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Michael Jacobsohn is an independent New York filmmaker. He curates and hosts a bi-monthly screening of short films by New York Metropolitan filmmakers at New Plaza Cinema. His latest documentary: “The Cornelia Street Cafe In Exile” will be screening at New Plaza Cinema on Friday, December 19 at 6 PM.