Fragments of Paradise

"Here I am. Me." Zooming in on his face, the usually smiling Jonas Mekas captures his own tears. With Fragments of Paradise, K.D. Davison situates Mekas as a key figure in the development of experimental, independent cinema in the United States. But the more or less chronological and highly informative tribute, divided in Mekas' style with intertitles, records both highs and lows. Because even there lies paradise-like beauty. Family members, contemporaries, and other familiar faces (Amy Taubin, Jim Jarmush, Peter Bogdanovich, ...) share heartfelt memories of the cinematic poet from their cinema seats. The documentary traces the less smooth life journey of the Lithuanian filmmaker and connects his well-known film diaries with achievements such as the founding of The Film-Makers' Cooperative and the Anthology Film Archives with his family life - accomplishments that were not always reconcilable.

"Fragments of Paradise is an intimate look at his life and work constructed from thousands of hours of his own film diaries — including never-before-seen recordings. It is a story about finding beauty amidst profound loss, and a man who tried to make sense of it all ... with a camera." - Biennale di Venezia