FILMS FROM THE UNDERGROUND.(independent film scene in New York)(Brief Article)

NEW YORK New York has always laid claim to being in the front line of cutting-edge theater, music, and dance. With film, however, the city has played second fiddle to activities on the West Coast, with one significant exception being in the area of experimental film and video.

Even in the '60s and early '70s, when Jonas Mekas' Film Culture column in the Village Voice chronicled the works of locals Ken Jacobs and the Kuchar brothers up to more recent artists such as Sadie Benning, Su Friedrich and Beth B, the city that housed the Cinema of Transgression movement has spawned more avant-garde artists in the visual medium than anywhere else.

Although older themes …