Collections/January 2026

Maya Deren: Master of the Avant-Garde

The barrier between waking and dreaming dissolves in the ecstatic, trancelike films of Maya Deren, a legend of the avant-garde who rewrote the rules of cinema in the name of uncompromising personal expression. Combining symbol-laden imagery, intricately choreographed camera movements, time- and space-expanding editing, dance, and ritual, Deren tapped into tantalizing realms of the unconscious in defining works like Meshes of the Afternoon , At Land , and Ritual in Transfigured Time , giving rapturous visual form to complex psychological states and inspiring a new generation of experimental filmmakers to express their own innermost dreams and desires on-screen.

8 films — 7 on the Channel, 1 unavailable