Songs for Drella

Ed Lachman | 1990 | DCP | 55 min.

In the 1950s, members of Andy Warhol’s inner circle nicknamed the artist ‘Drella’. When the Pop art titan died in 1987, Lou Reed and John Cale—two founders of American rock band The Velvet Underground—spoke for the first time in years. They wrote songs to commemorate their late friend and former manager, who famously contributed an image of a banana for the cover of their debut album. In 1990, Reed and Cale performed this collection of songs in homage to Warhol. Directed by Ed Lachman, the award-winning cinematographer best known for his collaboration with Todd Haynes, Songs for Drella is a rare performance by two iconic musicians, reuniting for an intimate cause and executed without the weight of sentimentality. Thought to be lost for years, this film was rediscovered and restored in 2021.

Scenes from the Life of Andy Warhol: Friendships and Intersections

Jonas Mekas | 1990 | Digital | 38 min.

Jonas Mekas’s short film Scenes from the Life of Andy Warhol: Friendships and Intersections features rarely seen footage of Andy Warhol from 1963 to 1990 with members of The Velvet Underground, the Warhol Superstars, Yoko Ono, John Lennon, Mick Jagger, and many others.

Ed Lachman (b. 1948, United States) has worked as a cinematographer since the 1980s. He was the director of photography for David Byrne’s True Stories (1986), Wim Wenders’ Tokyo-Ga (1985), and Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides (1999). He has shot every Todd Haynes film since Far from Heaven (2022).

Jonas Mekas (1922–2019, Lithuania) survived forced labour camp during World War II before moving to the United States with his younger brother Adolfas. In 1954, the Mekas brothers founded Film Culture magazine. In 1960s, he established the Film-Makers’ Cooperative and the Film-Makers’ Cinematheque, which later become the Anthology Film Archives. Hailed as the godfather of avant-garde cinema, Mekas has directed over fifty films in his career.