Meshes of the Afternoon + Daisies

• Meshess of the Afternoon, Maya Deren, USA, 1943, 14’
• Daisies, Vera Chytilová, Czechoslovakia, 1966, 75’

The fourth session of our small Youth in Film space casts its gaze into the past with Film History, addressing two films whose capital weight within that sphere is inscrutable. Together with Maya Deren and her Meshes of the afternoon, and Vera Chytilová and her famous Daisies, we are creating a small presentation of two avant-garde movements: the dawn of experimental film in the United States and that of Czechia-native Nová Vlna. 

These are two films that choose to continue expanding the limits of film language starting from the same core concept: the presence of a woman in front of and behind the camera. On one hand are dreams and surrealism; on the other hand is the destruction of morals. It is the analogue and the digital, both coexisting in a single space, in a single theatre.

Maya Deren is one of the leading figures of American avant-garde film, renowned internationally for Meshes of the Afternoon, co-directed with her second husband Alexander Hammid.  Born in 1917 to a Jewish family, Deren emigrated to the United States at an early age and obtained her nationality in 1928. 

Her artistic career includes not only film, but dance, choreography, writing, and photography as well. Meshes of the Afternoon presented experimental and avant-garde film that was far removed from the classicism so dominant in the United States of the 1940s. Following the path of some European filmmakers that cultivated experimental film in the 1920s, including Man Ray, Viking Eggeling, and Hans Richter, Maya Deren chose to bring surrealism and oneirism to American film. 

Praised by her contemporaries and those who came after, Deren’s short filmography is presented as a refresh of the American film aesthetic, attracting themes loaded with psychoanalytical tones, laying the first stone of experimental film’s path forward in the country.

As for Daisies, Vera Chytilová is a Czech filmmaker and one of the leading figures of the 1960s Nouvelle Vague movement in Czechia. She is known for her innovative and unconventional film, and her exploration of social and political themes.

One of her most well-known films is Daisies, which débuted in 1966 and is being screened today. Daisies is a surrealist and experimental film on the misfortunes of two young women: Marie I (played by Jitka Cherhová) and Marie II (played by Ivana Kalbanová). With a dedication “To those who become embittered at the sight of a smashed-up salad — alone”, the Maries embark on a series of playful escapades, giving in to hedonistic behaviour and challenging social norms in the process.

Freedom in the socialist Czech Republic of the 1960s is represented through the two girls’ excesses and mischief, with a film that raises questions about a freedom-deprived society content with the status quo.

Daisies has been lauded for its daring visual style, fragmented narrative structure, and feminist themes. Chytilová uses diverse techniques such as quick edits, collage-type images, and absurd humour to create a film that challenges traditional cinematographic conventions.

The film was controversial upon its début due to its subversive nature, and was initially banned by the Czech government. Nevertheless, since then it has been recognised as an emblematic work of Czech film and a feminist classic. Its influence can be seen in subsequent generations of filmmakers and artists that were inspired by the audacious focus of its narration and aesthetics.

Demonstrating Vera Chytilová's talent to go beyond limits and force audiences to rethink their perceptions of film and society, Daisies continues to be an important contribution to the film industry.