--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I live, therefore I make films. I make…" description: "\"I live, therefore I make films. I make film, therefore I live. Life. Movement. I make home movies, therefore I live. I live, therefore I make home movi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/jonas-mekas-12648_cinema_i-live-therefore-i-make-films-i-make-fil_13389.png" --- # I live, therefore I make films. I make film, therefore I… ![“I live, therefore I make films. I make film, therefore I live. Life. Movement. I make home movies, therefore I live. I live, therefore I make home movies.” quote by Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/jonas-mekas-12648_cinema_i-live-therefore-i-make-films-i-make-fil_13389.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/jonas-mekas-12648_cinema_i-live-therefore-i-make-films-i-make-fil_13389.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/jonas-mekas-12648_cinema_i-live-therefore-i-make-films-i-make-fil_13389.png) > “I live, therefore I make films. I make film, therefore I live. Life. Movement. I make home movies, therefore I live. I live, therefore I make home movies.” [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. The quote expresses the inseparable link between existence and artistic creation, suggesting that making films is both a manifestation and a necessity of living. **In simple terms:** Artistic creation is essential to life. Key Takeaway Creation fuels existence. Themes Existentialism Artistic Identity Creativity Self-Expression Life as Performance Mood Reflective Introspective Passionate Type Philosophical Personal Artistic When to use this quote - Documenting daily life - Exploring personal memory - Creating home movies - Expressing identity through film Key Concepts Film as Medium Personal Narrative Authenticity Practical Applications - Film journaling - Personal documentary making Questions to Reflect On - How does creating art shape your sense of self? - What does 'living' mean without creative expression? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Films](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/films/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Home Movie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home-movie/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-movement/) [Live life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-life/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Movies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movies/) ## Related quotes > [I make home movies-therefore I live. I live-therefore I make home movies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-make-home-movies-therefore-i-live-i-live-therefore-i-make-home/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [We pay for content that we like, and we like the content we pay for. It's a lot more satisfying to pay $7.50 for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/we-pay-for-content-that-we-like-and-we-like-the-content-we-pay-for-it/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [Nothing has ever touched on what fun childhood was. Summer holidays were bliss. We made home movies, with real stories in them. My father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-birkin/nothing-has-ever-touched-on-what-fun-childhood-was-summer-holidays/) [Jane Birkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-birkin/) > [We don't have home movies in my family. We have people's exhibit A.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/we-don-t-have-home-movies-in-my-family-we-have-people-s-exhibit-a/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) > [Everybody should wish they had home movies of themselves, acting out their lunacy on LSD.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-waters/everybody-should-wish-they-had-home-movies-of-themselves-acting-out/) [John Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-waters/) > [The first Westerns I saw as a child were those little 8-mm. home movies put out by Castle Films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pullman/the-first-westerns-i-saw-as-a-child-were-those-little-8-mm-home/) [Bill Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-pullman/) > [I think nowadays people are so used taking the camera to the family picnic - so people are less surprised by films made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-a-pennebaker/i-think-nowadays-people-are-so-used-taking-the-camera-to-the-family/) [D. A. Pennebaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-a-pennebaker/) > [I was making a lot of 8mm home movies, since I was twelve, making little dramas and comedies with the neighborhood kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-was-making-a-lot-of-8mm-home-movies-since-i-was-twelve-making/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [Up above Aliens hover Making home movies For the folks back home Of all these weird creatures Who lock up their spirits Drill holes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-yorke/up-above-aliens-hover-making-home-movies-for-the-folks-back-home-of/) [Thom Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-yorke/) > [I think as a filmmaker one should make all kinds of films. It is not that one should make only one kind of film.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madhur-bhandarkar/i-think-as-a-filmmaker-one-should-make-all-kinds-of-films-it-is-not/) [Madhur Bhandarkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madhur-bhandarkar/) > [I have to write for everyone. What really fascinates me is how you make films or make stories that can genuinely be shared by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-thompson/i-have-to-write-for-everyone-what-really-fascinates-me-is-how-you/) [Emma Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-thompson/) > [I don't make films to win prizes. I make films to make films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-jewison/i-don-t-make-films-to-win-prizes-i-make-films-to-make-films/) [Norman Jewison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-jewison/) > [Growing up, I wanted to write films and make films. 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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. In literature, you don't just say, 'Oh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/to-me-cinema-is-cinema-cinema-is-one-big-tree-with-many-branches-the/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [The nature of the video camera really makes you focus on the present. Since I have always been a diarist filmmaker, not one who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/the-nature-of-the-video-camera-really-makes-you-focus-on-the-present/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [In narrative cinema, a certain terminology has already been established: 'film noir,' 'Western,' even 'Spaghetti Western.' When we say 'film noir' we know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/in-narrative-cinema-a-certain-terminology-has-already-been/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [An adventurer can always return home; an exile cannot. 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. In other words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-m-working-in-a-form-of-cinema-that-can-be-described-and-has-been/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [I'm a filmmaker, but my working procedures are different. All my basic structuring is done during the filming. You know, how long I keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-m-a-filmmaker-but-my-working-procedures-are-different-all-my-basic/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [When I came to New York in 1949, there was already an entire fresh avant-garde film movement blooming in New York and California. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/when-i-came-to-new-york-in-1949-there-was-already-an-entire-fresh/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [I make home movies-therefore I live. I live-therefore I make home movies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-make-home-movies-therefore-i-live-i-live-therefore-i-make-home/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [“The hygienic slickness of our contemporary films, be they from Hollywood, Paris, or Sweden, is a contagious sickness that seems to be catching through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/the-hygienic-slickness-of-our-contemporary-films-be-they-from/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [Some cameras are heavier and need to be on tripods. Others are small enough to hide in your pocket. There are places where you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/some-cameras-are-heavier-and-need-to-be-on-tripods-others-are-small/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) [Explore all 46 Jonas Mekas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) ## More Cinema quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [You have to have a great director to make a great movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thelma-schoonmaker/you-have-to-have-a-great-director-to-make-a-great-movie/) [Thelma Schoonmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thelma-schoonmaker/) > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [There was a time in the 1980s when I worked in 22 films a year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radha-ravi/there-was-a-time-in-the-1980s-when-i-worked-in-22-films-a-year/) [Radha Ravi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radha-ravi/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [I love film people and actors and I am in the right world because I am one of those people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewan-mcgregor/i-love-film-people-and-actors-and-i-am-in-the-right-world-because-i/) [Ewan McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewan-mcgregor/) > [Personally, I prefer contemporary films, but the market calls for more period choices, especially since China opened up a cinema market in Hong Kong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-yen/personally-i-prefer-contemporary-films-but-the-market-calls-for-more/) [Donnie Yen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-yen/) > [I'd love to work in the States; I'd love to work anywhere where you get a good script and a good part to play.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-carmichael/i-d-love-to-work-in-the-states-i-d-love-to-work-anywhere-where-you/) [Laura Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-carmichael/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > ['Rear Window' isn't really a horror film, but it is a psychological drama, which I love. It is very tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-silvers/rear-window-isn-t-really-a-horror-film-but-it-is-a-psychological/) [Diana Silvers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-silvers/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) Jessica Yu > [I am not interested in churning out a certain number of films every year. For me, it's about the quality of work. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepika-padukone/i-am-not-interested-in-churning-out-a-certain-number-of-films-every/) [Deepika Padukone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepika-padukone/) [Browse all 23,940 Cinema quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I live, therefore I make films. I make film, therefore I live. Life. Movement. 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