The Maya Deren Project

Organic-electronic music duo ten thousand lakes (xkl) present The Maya Deren Project. An ode to American experimental filmmaker Maya Deren, this project honors her legacy and keeps her artistic vision and achievements alive and well in film's consciousness. This shorts program, composed of Deren’s celebrated works, is a collection of innovative films that delve into dream imagery and non-linear narrative. All films with live accompaniment by ten thousand lakes.

Tickets are $16 for all attendees. No Member Pricing. No Passes/No Punches. No free passes, discount promotions, nor member punches will be honored for this event. Mega Guffman-level benefits apply. To redeem Mega Guffman benefits, please reserve at the Ragtag Box Office or over the phone.

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THE MAYA DEREN PROJECT PROGRAM

"Maya Deren conceived AT LAND and RITUAL IN TRANSFIGURED TIME as silent films to be shown as a visual experience without sound or music. She collaborated with her husband, the musician Teiji Ito, to compose music for MESHES OF THE AFTERNOON and THE VERY EYE OF NIGHT. The Maya Deren estate has gracefully allowed us (ten thousand lakes) to show these films with our own musical compositions, in order to allow her work to inspire us, to reach our own creative heights."

AT LAND
(1944, USA, 15 min) Dir. Maya Deren
According to Deren, this work is a "mythological voyage of the twentieth century," a voyage in which one is challenged with trying to maintain one's identity in a society that imposes its own values and expectations.

RITUAL IN TRANSFIGURED TIME
(1946, USA, 15 min) Dir. Maya Deren
A lifelong lover of dance, Deren treats the mundane as such, exemplified by turning a cocktail party into a choreographed social event. Eventually the film transforms into a beautifully choreographed chase, culminating in Deren’s merging with the sea.

THE VERY EYE OF NIGHT
(1955, USA, 15 min) Dir. Maya Deren
Deren collaborated with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet School to create a visually cosmic experience. Dancers filmed in negative float through black outer space, gracefully moving through the heavens, as living constellations.

MESHES OF THE AFTERNOON
(1943, USA, 15 min) Dir. Maya Deren
One of the most influential works in American experimental cinema, this trance film follows a central figure (played by Deren) attuned to her unconscious mind caught in a web of dream events that spill over into reality.

Learn more here.