Alexander Hammid

Alexander Hammid

Directing

Biography

Alexander Hammid born Alexandr Hackenschmied (17 December 1907, Linz – 26 July 2004, New York City) was a leading photographer, film director, cinematographer and editor in Czechoslovakia between the two world wars. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1938 and became involved in American avant-garde cinema. He is best known known for his film, Crisis (1939), Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) and To Be Alive!(1964). He made Meshes of the Afternoon, with his wife Maya Deren—to whom he was married from 1942 to 1947. He won the 1965 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) for To Be Alive! (1964), which he co-directed with Francis Thompson.

Filmography Movies

Acting

Meshes of the Afternoon movie poster

Meshes of the Afternoon

A woman returning home falls asleep and has vivid dreams that may or may not be happening in reality. Through repetitive images and complete mismatching of the objective view of time and space, her dark inner desires play out on-screen.

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Meshes of the Afternoon

In the Mirror of Maya Deren movie poster

In the Mirror of Maya Deren

Documentary about the life of avant-garde filmmaker Maya Deren, who led the independent film movement of the 1940s.

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In the Mirror of Maya Deren

Maya Deren - Experimental Films movie poster

Maya Deren - Experimental Films

The collected shorts of Maya Deren the "Mother of the trance film" who worked completely outside the commercial film industry and made her own inner experience the center of her films.The collected shorts of Maya Deren the "Mother of the trance film" who worked completely outside the commercial film industry and made her own inner experience the center of her films.

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Maya Deren - Experimental Films

Maya Deren, Take ZeroMOVIE

Maya Deren, Take Zero

This documentary interweaves films and voice recordings by Maya Deren with interviews featuring colleagues and contemporaries who worked with or knew her firsthand. Drawing on archival material and commentary from figures such as Jean Rouch and Jonas Mekas, the film traces Deren’s work and influence across experimental cinema and ethnographic thought.

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Maya Deren, Take Zero

At Land movie poster

At Land

A woman washes up on a beach and embarks on a surreal journey, encountering others and fragmented versions of herself in a quest for identity.

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Invocation: Maya Deren movie poster

Invocation: Maya Deren

Maya Deren is a legend of avant-garde cinema. This authoritative biography of the charismatic filmmaker, poet and anthropologist features excerpts from her pioneering Meshes of the Afternoon and her unfinished documentary on Haiti, interviews with Stan Brakhage and Jonas Mekas, and recordings of her lectures. Narrated by actress Helen Mirren, this definitive documentary offers startling insights into one of the most intriguing, accomplished figures in cinema history.

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Invocation: Maya Deren

Himself (as Sasha Hammid)

Aimless Walk - Alexander Hammid movie poster

Aimless Walk - Alexander Hammid

We accompany the 90-year-old filmmaker Alexander Hammid on a stroll through New York, wandering with him through the outer and inner landscapes of his world. The observation of details takes on a meditative character.

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Aimless Walk - Alexander Hammid

Production

Out

A BAFTA award nominated documentary studying Hungarian refugee problems after the October 1956 revolution. Shot on the Austro-Hungarian frontier and in the refugee camp at Traiskirchen.

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The Prague Castle movie poster

The Prague Castle

In 1932 Hammid bought a handheld camera Bell-Howell and made his second film, Na Pražském hradě [Prague Castle], in close collaboration with the composer of the sound track, striving for an organic intertwining of image and music.

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The Prague Castle

Aimless Walk movie poster

Aimless Walk

This first true Czech avant-garde film turns away from a purely celebratory approach to the city. The camera follows a detached protagonist on his wanderings, as his highly subjective journey becomes a fragmented visualization of urban landscapes.

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Director of Photography

The Prague Castle movie poster

The Prague Castle

In 1932 Hammid bought a handheld camera Bell-Howell and made his second film, Na Pražském hradě [Prague Castle], in close collaboration with the composer of the sound track, striving for an organic intertwining of image and music.

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The Prague Castle

Director of Photography

Spring in Carpathian RutheniaMOVIE

Spring in Carpathian Ruthenia

Karel Plicka was also cinematographer of this short movie. Editor in charge was Alexander Hackenschmied. There is an extraordinary emotional charge, every shot is working on its own, such as photographs, paintings and poetic complement intertitles in this short. From the perspective of nature and the perspective is shifting to the people and their habits, work and clothes. Peculiar documentary shots underscore Ruthenians (men, women and children) who are interested in looking into the camera and the curious "eye" showing off their habits.

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Spring in Carpathian Ruthenia

The Private Life of a Cat movie poster

The Private Life of a Cat

An intimate study of the life of a domestic cat, taking place over a period of months as she gives birth to a litter of kittens and cares for them as they grow.

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The Private Life of a Cat

The Private Life of a Cat movie poster

The Private Life of a Cat

An intimate study of the life of a domestic cat, taking place over a period of months as she gives birth to a litter of kittens and cares for them as they grow.

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The Private Life of a Cat

The Private Life of a Cat movie poster

The Private Life of a Cat

An intimate study of the life of a domestic cat, taking place over a period of months as she gives birth to a litter of kittens and cares for them as they grow.

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The Private Life of a Cat

Director of Photography

The Private Life of a Cat movie poster

The Private Life of a Cat

An intimate study of the life of a domestic cat, taking place over a period of months as she gives birth to a litter of kittens and cares for them as they grow.

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The Private Life of a Cat

Production Design

The Private Life of a Cat movie poster

The Private Life of a Cat

An intimate study of the life of a domestic cat, taking place over a period of months as she gives birth to a litter of kittens and cares for them as they grow.

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The Private Life of a Cat

Gallery

Alexander Hammid portrait