Meshes of the Afternoon
1943, 14 min
Considered
a staple of avant-garde American film, this collaboration with
Alexander Hammid stars Deren as a woman inside of a labyrinthine
nightmare, inhabited by her double as well as a mysterious cloaked
figure with the face of a mirror.
At Land
1944, 15 min
A
15-minute silent experimental film written, directed by and starring
Maya Deren. It has a dream-like narrative in which a woman, played by
Deren, is washed up on a beach and goes on a strange journey
encountering other people and other versions of herself. Deren once said
that the film is about the struggle to maintain ones personal identity.
The composer John Cage and the poet and film critic Parker Tyler were
involved in making the film, and appear in the film, which was shot at
Amagansett, Long Island.
Ritual In Transfigured Time
1946, 15 min
In
Maya Deren's Ritual in Transfigured Time we have gestures that invite
us to move into step with them, abandoning the comfort of the known and
giving ourselves over to so many strange partners. This silent short
begins in a domestic environment, moves to a party scene, and ends with
modern dance performed in an outdoor setting. The film's continuity is
established by an emphasis on gesture and/or dance throughout.
A Study in Choreography For Camera
1946, 4 min
Using
a unique editing style, manipulating of time, and utilizing the motions
of dancer Talley Beatty, Deren has said this film was "an effort to
isolate and celebrate the principle of the power of movement."
Meditation On Violence
1948, 13 min
The Very Eye of Night
1963, 15 min
