The wild and wonderful world of Shirley Clarke

She never got the recognition she deserved and that had probably something to do with the adventurous and totally unconventional lifestyle she chose for herself. Born to an upper crust family, Shirley Clarke never managed to slip into the settled existence her privileged upbringing offered, nor rise to the demands of her social circle, so she decided to start her own revolution by opting for Bohemia. Initially finding inspiration in dance, she studied with masters like Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey, until she met her destiny the first time she got hold of a small Bolex camera. Infiltrating the avant- garde, she and experimental film pioneer Jonas Mekas founded the New American Cinema Group and, sometime later, they recruited Albert Maysles and D.A. Pennebaker, into a film collective that helped John Cassavetes – among others - make his first (now emblematic) film "Shadows" in 1958. With "The Connection", her first radical feature made in 1961, she broke all the rules, giving a voice to the unseen side of American life while standing up to a male dominated world that considered the idea of a female filmmaker preposterous. Her legacy includes two brilliant features ("The Connection" and "The Cool World"), a series of beautiful expressionistic shorts and two unforgettable documentaries: one about radical jazz musician Ornette Coleman and one about great American poet Robert Frost, which earned her an Oscar. The 21st Athens International Film Festival salutes her, introducing audiences to her work through a series of restored prints.

Loukas Katsikas

Filmography

1985 Ornette: Made in America
1978 Mysterium; Initiation
1967 Portrait of Jason (Documentary)
1963 Robert Frost: A Lover's Quarrel with the World (Documentary)
1963 The Cool World
1962 The Connection
1960 Skyscraper (Short documentary)
1960 A Scary Time
1958 Bridges-Go-Round (Short)
1957 Brussels Loops (Short)
1956 Moment in Love (Short)
1955 Bullfight (Short)
1954 In Paris Parks (Short)
1953 Dance in the Sun (Short)