Licensing laws forced avant-garde film to fight censorship even in its own space

Evidence

“When the Film-Makers’ Showcase moved into the Gramercy Arts Theater, we thought now we’ll be able to continue our work in peace,” Mekas wrote in the Voice. “We were wrong.” … The censors and licensors are on our backs. They have interfered with our work. They have disregarded the fact that most of the films screened are unfinished works in progress and cannot be submitted for censorship or licensing. They are following blindly the dumb letter of bureaucracy. … They say we are corrupting your morals. We would be glad if we could. — J. Hoberman, Everything Is Now, 461

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s broader interest in how illegality and official repression shaped scene formation — parallels the censorship pressure documented around other avant-garde scenes like Langlois-era French cinema.