User reviews

wonderful soundtrack by john zorn

meetings/interviews with stan brakhage, jonas mekas, ... (every time a great pleasure to see them)

[besides: we need all brakhage films out on dvd!]

a lot of original film clips of maya's movies (this is the best part, especially worth mentioning is the footage from the haitian voodoo documentary, since i had never seen it before - i love it, it is accompanied with original music from maya's magnetic tapes recorded at the time of shooting in haiti. a lot of vitality, a lot of energy - you can almost feel it !

there are also a lot of original soundclips of maya's voice used in this picture (very good sound quality, it really brings her to life for all of us)

a definite must see

[so release it on dvd for repeated viewings include all of maya's movies in an uncut version on an extra disc, PLEASE !!!]

... lists like the IMDB users' top 250 mean nothing to me and why I don't rate movies. Maya Deren was one of the pioneers of the experimental cinema movement and this documentary sheds light on her life, her relationship with the people she worked with, her 2 last husbands, her trip to Haiti and the sacrifices she has to go through in order to continue making movies. In the mirror of Maya Deren is a fine introduction to Maya Deren's work but I would recommend her own films to anyone who wants to see something really different.

This presentation is the most excellent biography and not all soundbites

This is a bare-bones review. If you want details purchase the film; you will not be disappointed.

Born: Eleanora Derenkovskaya April 29, 1917, in Kiev, Russia (now Ukraine)

Maya Deren came to the USA in 1922 as Eleanora Derenkowsky.

Died: October 13, 1961 (age 44) in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

What happened in between?

Watch the film.

Alexander Hammid - married Maya in Hollywood 1943. He tells his version of her life.

Katherine Bunham (choreographer) said she could have been a dancer.

Excerpts from her films are shown.

Grame Ferguson (filmmaker, co-founder of IMAX Corp.) describes "At Land" (1944). See it in her experimental films.

Maya describes her own film making.

Marcia Vogel (co-director Cinema 16) tells her tale of Maya encounters.

Amos Vogel (writer, co-director Cinema 16) tells his tale of Maya encounters. "A new kind of talent."

Stan Brakeage (filmmaker) describes "Meditation on Violence" (1948).

Judith Malina (Actress, director "The Living Theater") tells her tale of Maya encounters.

Varieties of others also tell his/her tale.

"The Very Eye of Night" (1953) did not screen until 1959.

The presentation is in black and white. Also, color when appropriate.

Read "Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti" published in 1952. Edited by Joseph Campbell.