At Land

At Land

16mm, black and white, silent, 14 min
At Land is another of Maya Deren's dream like films. The message which it transmits to and its main subject rests on the idea of the mutability of a personality. Maya said once that this film was ...
Rental formats: 16mm, Digital file

Stills

About

At Land is another of Maya Deren's dream like films. The message which it transmits to and its main subject rests on the idea of the mutability of a personality. Maya said once that this film was made to show people the struggle to maintain the personal identity. The whole film has only 15 minutes, in which a whole life is subjectively described. It was made in the year of 1944, and Deren was the one who wrote, directed and played,the featured role in it, just like in her first movie Meshes of the Afternoon. Maya Deren is laying on the sand, and the ocean's waves are coming and going like if she had been spelled from it. This symbolic birth from the sea was particularly chosen to make us think of the role of education. She came from the sea, different from all the others who had influences and rules to follow since were born. Having the chance to find out by herself who she is and what she is doing there at that specific moment, like in a natural way maya would say, make her run. The film is all about her world exploration, her curiosity to discover what is in there, criticizing the society at that time which was not curious to know if there was any truth besides television or Hollywood. At the end, she chooses to go back to the sea after her incessant odyssey at land to find an identity.

Programs

  • See More

    Awake, But Dreaming

    A program of avant-garde dream films

    Join us at the Film-Makers' Cooperative on Friday, March 3rd, 2023, at 7pm for a program of avant-garde dream films curated by Matt McKinzie.

  • See More

    The Experimental Sublime

    A program of experimental films about identity and self-discovery through communion with nature

    On Wednesday, April 26th, at 7pm, join us at the FMC Screening Room (475 Park Avenue South, 6th Floor) for an exciting program of experimental films about identity and self-discovery through communion with nature, curated by Zoë Kase.

  • See More

    The Film-Makers' Cooperative x The Brooklyn Rail: An Ode to Maya Deren

    Five Maya Deren films

    This Labor Day, we're thrilled to collaborate with our friends at The Brooklyn Rail for an exciting Maya Deren screening series!

Films

  • Other films by this artist in our catalogue

  • Read More
    Meshes of the Afternoon
    Experimental

    Meshes of the Afternoon
    Maya Deren

    16mm, black and white, sound, 14 min
    Rental formats: 16mm, Digital file
    • Philosophical
    • Personal / Diary / Journal
  • Read More
    The Witch's Cradle
    Experimental

    The Witch's Cradle
    Maya Deren

    16mm, black and white, silent, 12 min
    Rental formats: 16mm, Digital file
    • Spiritual / Mystical
  • Read More
    A Study In Choreography For Camera

    A Study In Choreography For Camera
    Maya Deren

    16mm, black and white, sound, 3 min
    Rental format: 16mm
    • Body
    • Dance
  • Read More
    Ritual In Transfigured Time
    Experimental

    Ritual In Transfigured Time
    Maya Deren

    16mm, black and white, sound, 15 min
    Rental format: 16mm
    • Philosophical
    • Dance
  • Read More
    Meditation On Violence
    Experimental

    Meditation On Violence
    Maya Deren

    16mm, black and white, sound, 13 min
    Rental format: 16mm
    • Philosophical
    • Dance
  • Read More
    Dance Films
    Experimental

    Dance Films
    Maya Deren

    black and white, silent and sound, 47 min
    Rental format: DVD PAL
    • Body
    • Dance
  • Read More
    The Very Eye of Night
    Experimental

    The Very Eye of Night
    Maya Deren

    16mm, black and white, sound, 15 min
    Rental format: 16mm
    • Dance
  • Read More
    Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti
    Documentary
    Experimental

    Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti
    Maya Deren

    16mm, black and white, sound, 54 min
    Rental format: 16mm
    • Ethnographic
    • Spiritual / Mystical
    • Dance