Cinema 16

Meshes in the Afternoon (2x12)

Air date: May 17, 1943

MESHES OF THE AFTERNOON is one of the most influential works in American experimental cinema. A non-narrative work, it has been identified as a key example of the trance film, in which a protagonist appears in a dreamlike state, and where the camera conveys his or her subjective focus. The central figure in Meshes of the Afternoon, played by Deren, is attuned to her unconscious mind and caught in a web of dream events that spill over into reality. Made by Deren with her husband, cinematographer Alexander Hammid, MESHES OF THE AFTERNOON established the independent avant-garde movement in film in the United States directly inspiring early works by Kenneth Anger, Stan Brakhage, and other major experimental filmmakers.