--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I always work only with friends, but it…" description: "\"I always work only with friends, but it must be about them and myself. Because I film only very personal moments, nothing preplanned, staged or written..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/163/jonas-mekas-12648_being-real_i-always-work-only-with-friends-but-it-m_2173344.jpg" --- # I always work only with friends, but it must be about them… ![“I always work only with friends, but it must be about them and myself. Because I film only very personal moments, nothing preplanned, staged or written, it has to be real and spontaneous. Some of them have become famous, some are not yet famous, some will never be famous. But they are all my…” quote by Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/163/jonas-mekas-12648_being-real_i-always-work-only-with-friends-but-it-m_2173344.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/163/jonas-mekas-12648_being-real_i-always-work-only-with-friends-but-it-m_2173344.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/163/jonas-mekas-12648_being-real_i-always-work-only-with-friends-but-it-m_2173344.jpg) > “I always work only with friends, but it must be about them and myself. Because I film only very personal moments, nothing preplanned, staged or written, it has to be real and spontaneous. Some of them have become famous, some are not yet famous, some will never be famous. But they are all my friends.” [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True artistic expression arises from spontaneous, sincere moments shared with close friends. **In simple terms:** Spontaneity and friendship fuel genuine art. Key Takeaway Capture real moments with friends. Themes friendship creativity authenticity Mood introspective creative Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - film projects - personal archives - collaborative art Key Concepts documentary filmmaking personal expression Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance spontaneity and planning? - What defines “real” in art? A Different Perspective Spontaneity may clash with professional expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-real/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Film Personal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film-personal-540695/) [Friends Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends-film-2373131/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Personal Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-moments-3418178/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Spontaneous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spontaneous/) [Spontaneous Famous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spontaneous-famous-4663541/) [Work Friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-friends-256961/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) ## Related quotes > [“In some precious and personal moments there are brief, sudden surges of recognition of an immortal insight, a doctrinal deja vu. 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I'll meet the same actors on different projects every few years, but in the interim we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-fitzgerald/i-rarely-make-good-friends-on-film-sets-i-ll-meet-the-same-actors-on/) [Tara Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-fitzgerald/) > [I have many dear friends in the film industry, but finally, the roles come to me on merit, not because of personal equations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/govinda/i-have-many-dear-friends-in-the-film-industry-but-finally-the-roles/) [Govinda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/govinda/) > [I have great friends in film industry but professionalism and friendship are two different cups of tea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dino-morea/i-have-great-friends-in-film-industry-but-professionalism-and/) [Dino Morea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dino-morea/) > ['The Missing Picture' is about my story and my parents. 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My most personal film, but it's not like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-ratner/i-did-new-york-i-love-you-which-is-a-very-personal-film-for-me-my/) [Brett Ratner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-ratner/) > [You can't make a film for your personal satisfaction. That is why I detest the cinema of people like Mani Kaul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naseeruddin-shah/you-can-t-make-a-film-for-your-personal-satisfaction-that-is-why-i/) [Naseeruddin Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naseeruddin-shah/) > [If I'm going to make a genre film, it has to be personal and it has to be good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-eggers/if-i-m-going-to-make-a-genre-film-it-has-to-be-personal-and-it-has-to/) [Robert Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-eggers/) ## More by Jonas Mekas > [I live, therefore I make films. I make film, therefore I live. Life. Movement. I make home movies, therefore I live. I live, therefore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-live-therefore-i-make-films-i-make-film-therefore-i-live-life/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [I'm not so much in the future as always in the present. The future always takes care of itself. What I do now with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-m-not-so-much-in-the-future-as-always-in-the-present-the-future/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [“pasidaryt mažesniam reikia daug laiko.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/pasidaryt-ma-esniam-reikia-daug-laiko/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [To me, cinema is cinema. Cinema is one big tree with many branches. The same as literature. 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So I decided that my home would be culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/an-adventurer-can-always-return-home-an-exile-cannot-so-i-decided/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [Just as in writing, there are novelistic and sort of pedestrian ways of telling a story, to write a postcard with your little pocket…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/just-as-in-writing-there-are-novelistic-and-sort-of-pedestrian-ways/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [I myself saw the great works of Western civilization for the first time in my high school in Lithuania in bad black-and-white reproductions on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-myself-saw-the-great-works-of-western-civilization-for-the-first/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [Once you change the technology - from a film camera to a video camera, or from an 8-mm camera to 16 mm - you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/once-you-change-the-technology-from-a-film-camera-to-a-video-camera/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [I'm working in a form of cinema that can be described, and has been described, as a diaristic form of cinema. 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