--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm working in a form of cinema that can…" description: "\"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, with material from my own..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/366/jonas-mekas-12648_cameras_i-m-working-in-a-form-of-cinema-that-can_573999.png" --- # I'm working in a form of cinema that can be described, and… ![“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, with material from my own life. I walk through life with my camera, and occasionally I film. I never think about scripts, never think about films, making films.” quote by Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/366/jonas-mekas-12648_cameras_i-m-working-in-a-form-of-cinema-that-can_573999.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/366/jonas-mekas-12648_cameras_i-m-working-in-a-form-of-cinema-that-can_573999.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/366/jonas-mekas-12648_cameras_i-m-working-in-a-form-of-cinema-that-can_573999.png) > “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, with material from my own life. I walk through life with my camera, and occasionally I film. I never think about scripts, never think about films, making films.” [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. A personal, observational style of filmmaking captures everyday life without a scripted narrative. **In simple terms:** Life captured spontaneously on camera. Key Takeaway Embrace candid, personal storytelling. Themes documentary personal cinema authenticity Mood reflective intimate Type artistic personal When to use this quote - daily vlogging - travel documentaries - personal memoir films Key Concepts diaristic filmmaking observational art Questions to Reflect On - How does spontaneity affect viewer connection? - What moments become meaningful when filmed? A Different Perspective May lack narrative structure for some audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cameras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cameras/) [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I can't always be making 'British films.' Why should we be making films about corsets and horses and girls learning to drive when Americans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-clarke/i-can-t-always-be-making-british-films-why-should-we-be-making-films/) [Noel Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-clarke/) > [The theater is a need for me. It's a terrible attraction, something I'm compelled to do. And one derives a form of nourishment from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-day-lewis/the-theater-is-a-need-for-me-it-s-a-terrible-attraction-something-i-m/) [Daniel Day-Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-day-lewis/) > [The only way you can learn about making films is by making them, by putting your stamp on the thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-frears/the-only-way-you-can-learn-about-making-films-is-by-making-them-by/) [Stephen Frears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-frears/) > [In Canada, I've had success raising money. I think I was fortunate enough. But today, I would have to write a very, very bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-falardeau/in-canada-i-ve-had-success-raising-money-i-think-i-was-fortunate/) [Philippe Falardeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-falardeau/) > [Short films are good, especially since independent films are making waves now, more than before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karthik-subbaraj/short-films-are-good-especially-since-independent-films-are-making/) [Karthik Subbaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karthik-subbaraj/) > [One filmmaker makes films that are deep, intellectual, profound and confrontational. And the other one makes purely vacuous, escapist films. I'm not sure the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/one-filmmaker-makes-films-that-are-deep-intellectual-profound-and/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [I don't actually sit down and write, but I just have a lot of different ideas about films and making movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/obie-trice/i-don-t-actually-sit-down-and-write-but-i-just-have-a-lot-of/) [Obie Trice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/obie-trice/) > [As much as we'd like to believe that our work is great and that we're infallible, we're not. Hollywood movies are made for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-ramis/as-much-as-we-d-like-to-believe-that-our-work-is-great-and-that-we-re/) [Harold Ramis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-ramis/) > [The great hope is that people who wouldn't normally make films will be making them. Suddenly, one day some little fat girl in Ohio…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-ford-coppola/the-great-hope-is-that-people-who-wouldn-t-normally-make-films-will/) [Francis Ford Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-ford-coppola/) > [My passion is films and making them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akkineni-nagarjuna/my-passion-is-films-and-making-them/) [Akkineni Nagarjuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akkineni-nagarjuna/) > [The only time I'm totally happy is when I'm watching films or making them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/the-only-time-i-m-totally-happy-is-when-i-m-watching-films-or-making/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [We were for Mao, but when we saw the films he was making, they were bad. So we understood that there was necessarily something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/we-were-for-mao-but-when-we-saw-the-films-he-was-making-they-were-bad/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [I still enjoy watching films more than making them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-winterbottom/i-still-enjoy-watching-films-more-than-making-them/) [Michael Winterbottom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-winterbottom/) > [The studios are making fewer films. They are making more expensive films. Profits are tougher to come by. Not only because of the expense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-friedkin/the-studios-are-making-fewer-films-they-are-making-more-expensive/) [William Friedkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-friedkin/) > [I made a lot of short films before making a feature film. Actually, I learnt film-making by making short films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karthik-subbaraj/i-made-a-lot-of-short-films-before-making-a-feature-film-actually-i/) [Karthik Subbaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karthik-subbaraj/) ## 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. 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 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 Cameras quotes > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I have a way to photograph. You work with space, you have a camera, you have a frame, and then a fraction of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastiao-salgado/i-have-a-way-to-photograph-you-work-with-space-you-have-a-camera-you/) [Sebastiao Salgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastiao-salgado/) > [I'm a film guy. I love it. When I read the screenplay, I knew that there would be no HD camera that could achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deon-taylor/i-m-a-film-guy-i-love-it-when-i-read-the-screenplay-i-knew-that-there/) Deon Taylor > [To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-shift-the-structure-of-a-sentence-alters-the-meaning-of-that/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I can look around a room and tell you if there are hidden cameras or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-ash/i-can-look-around-a-room-and-tell-you-if-there-are-hidden-cameras-or/) [Lauren Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-ash/) > [There's nothing like the energy in a small comedy club room or a small theater when it's going really well. I can see everybody's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-carey/there-s-nothing-like-the-energy-in-a-small-comedy-club-room-or-a/) [Drew Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-carey/) > [When they took me to do the camera test for the vampire make up, after they put the prosthetic on, I went though the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-benz/when-they-took-me-to-do-the-camera-test-for-the-vampire-make-up-after/) [Julie Benz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-benz/) > [I like acting too much and it's too, I'm just too busy doing that and I'm too hungry for it, to get behind the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-weisz/i-like-acting-too-much-and-it-s-too-i-m-just-too-busy-doing-that-and/) [Rachel Weisz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-weisz/) > [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [Many times I've sat with a camera and another actor and seen all their fears and insecurities and struggles. You want to support them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-eccleston/many-times-i-ve-sat-with-a-camera-and-another-actor-and-seen-all/) [Christopher Eccleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-eccleston/) > [Don't ever for a minute make the mistake of looking down your nose at westerns. They're art - the good ones, I mean. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/don-t-ever-for-a-minute-make-the-mistake-of-looking-down-your-nose-at/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [My personal interest in ordinary people is unlimited, but I am fascinated by the challenge of portraying true greatness adequately with my camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yousuf-karsh/my-personal-interest-in-ordinary-people-is-unlimited-but-i-am/) [Yousuf Karsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yousuf-karsh/) > [Since a camera is something too heavy for women and initially made for men, you need a good cameraman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitra-farahani/since-a-camera-is-something-too-heavy-for-women-and-initially-made/) Mitra Farahani > [I'm closer to being happy. I'm doing things that make me happy. In football I loved to practice and I loved to play, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-williams/i-m-closer-to-being-happy-i-m-doing-things-that-make-me-happy-in/) [Ricky Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-williams/) > [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/) [Browse all 2,666 Cameras quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cameras/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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, with material from my own life. I walk through life with my camera, and occasionally I film. 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