November 25, 2020 – January 31, 2021

After years of dreaming, planning, and herculean efforts on the part of Jonas Mekas and his collaborators, Anthology Film Archives welcomed visitors for the first time with an event and reception on November 30, 1970 (followed by the public opening the following day, December 1). This week, then, marks half a century of Anthology as a cinema, archive, library – and community – devoted to experimental filmmaking.

While the pandemic has greatly complicated our plans to celebrate the anniversary, we will nonetheless be marking the occasion in various ways throughout 2020-21. Details of various anniversary-themed or -inspired online programs will be added to the list of screenings at the bottom of this page as they become available.  And we are also celebrating by presenting the fruits of a major, ongoing anniversary project: we’ve been reaching out to filmmakers, artists, scholars, and others to bear witness to Anthology’s value – to the influence AFA has had on their own work, its significance within the history of avant-garde cinema and art, and its place in the sphere of contemporary culture in NYC and beyond. These testimonials have taken the form of short videos – some comprising newly produced short films in their own right – which we’ll be sharing throughout the coming weeks and months. A selection of the videos that have already been contributed – by filmmakers and artists including Peggy Ahwesh, Alec Baldwin, Stephanie Barber, Manuel DeLanda, Richard Hell, Jim Jarmusch, Jennifer Reeder, John Waters, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and many others – are showcased here, on Anthology’s Vimeo page. We’ll continue to gather and share these testimonials throughout the rest of the year, and into 2021 (and hopefully these celebrations will culminate with in-person events when circumstances allow!).