Meshes of the Afternoon



Maya Deren, a Russian Jewish émigré who came to America in the 1920s, and her husband Alexander Hammid crafted a 14-minute experimental film in 1943 that today is acknowledged as one of the classics of avant-garde cinema. Reminiscent of film noir in style and multi-layered in narrative, Meshes of the Afternoon and its symbolism require the audience to have a sense of curiosity and patience to interpret the fragmented imagery of everyday objects – a flower, a key -- and actions – walking up stair, looking out a window -- within sequences that intersperse dreams and reality to create Deren's brand of "feminine poetry."

Meshes of the Afternoon was added to the National Film Registry in 1990.