Jonas Mekas and Ousmane Sembène are among the most important independent filmmakers of the 20th century, each in his own unique way. Both lived through the turbulent events of that century — the Second World War and the imperialist occupation of their homelands, Lithuania and Senegal. Along their journeys, they encountered legendary figures from the worlds of art and politics: Allen Ginsberg, Yoko Ono, Andy Warhol; Patrice Lumumba, Amílcar Cabral, Ho Chi Minh…
Through his cinema, Sembène sought to reverse the colonial gaze on Africa and restore to Africans the role of subjects in their own history. His filmography can be seen as a series of political and pedagogical gestures, rooted in his conviction that literature — steeped in elitism — could not reach a society grounded in oral culture. His works formed a powerful counter-narrative to the dominant colonial-capitalist discourse.
Mekas, on the other hand, built an extraordinarily personal and intricate filmography, far removed from mainstream or commercial production, while cultivating a community of artists around Anthology Film Archives — New York’s mecca of experimental cinema.
At first glance, their worlds may seem distant. And yet — intriguingly — their debut films, Black Girl and Guns of the Trees, both shot in black and white, share a common motif: a young woman, crushed under the weight of exploitation, racism, and patriarchy, takes her own life.
Although there is no evidence that these two artists ever met, it is not impossible — perhaps even likely — that their paths could have crossed, maybe more than once. After extensive field and archival research, The School of Mutants invites us to imagine the conversation these two icons of freedom and radical autonomy might have had. Their voices are brought to life by theatre director Naubertas Janiskas and filmmaker/actor Alassane Sy.
