Rita Christiani

Maya Deren was already a respected writer and artist by the time she picked up a film camera and created the groundbreaking avant-garde film "Meshes of the Afternoon." A leading figure in the independent art scene of the 1940s and '50s, Deren would go on to influence a generation of alternative artists. Noted experimental filmmakers like Jonas Mekas and Stan Brakhage, along with Deren's ex-husband, talk about Deren's ambitious nature and the haunting power of her work.