Alexander Hammid
Director · 1907 – 2004 · Linz, Austria
Alexander Hammid born Alexandr Hackenschmied (17 December 1907, Linz – 26 July 2004, New York City) was a leading photographer, film director, cinematographer and editor in Czechoslovakia between the two world wars. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1938 and became involved in American avant-garde cinema. He is best known known for his film, Crisis (1939), Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) and To Be Alive!(1964). He made Meshes of the Afternoon, with his wife Maya Deren—to whom he was married from 1942 to 1947. He won the 1965 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) for To Be Alive! (1964), which he co-directed with Francis Thompson.
Movies7
Movie7.6MysteryFantasyA woman returning home falls asleep and has vivid dreams that may or may not be happening in reality. Through repetitive images and complete mismatching of the objective view of time and space, her dark inner desires play out on-screen.
Meshes of the Afternoon
1943 · 458 votes
Movie7.2FantasyA woman washes up on a beach and embarks on a surreal journey, encountering others and fragmented versions of herself in a quest for identity.
At Land
1944 · 112 votes
Movie7.5DocumentaryDocumentary about the life of avant-garde filmmaker Maya Deren, who led the independent film movement of the 1940s.
Movie6.8DocumentaryExperimental filmmaker Pip Chodorov traces the course of experimental film in America, taking the very personal point of view of someone who grew up as part of the experimental film community.
Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film
2011 · 12 votes
Movie6.3DocumentaryWe accompany the 90-year-old filmmaker Alexander Hammid on a stroll through New York, wandering with him through the outer and inner landscapes of his world. The observation of details takes on a meditative character.
Aimless Walk - Alexander Hammid
1997 · 3 votes
Movie6.3DocumentaryMaya Deren is a legend of avant-garde cinema. This authoritative biography of the charismatic filmmaker, poet and anthropologist features excerpts from her pioneering Meshes of the Afternoon and her unfinished documentary on Haiti, interviews with Stan Brakhage and Jonas Mekas, and recordings of her lectures. Narrated by actress Helen Mirren, this definitive documentary offers startling insights into one of the most intriguing, accomplished figures in cinema history.
Invocation: Maya Deren
1986 · 3 votes
- Movie5.0DocumentaryHistory
This documentary interweaves films and voice recordings by Maya Deren with interviews featuring colleagues and contemporaries who worked with or knew her firsthand. Drawing on archival material and commentary from figures such as Jean Rouch and Jonas Mekas, the film traces Deren’s work and influence across experimental cinema and ethnographic thought.
Maya Deren, Take Zero
2012 · 1 votes