into the free and open organization of the New American Cinema. The second meeting took place on September 30 at the Bleecker Street Cinema and the first draft of the statement of aims was read, discussed and approved, and later published in Film Culture. Subsequently, a third and fourth meeting took place, leading to the establishment in 1961 of the Film-makers' Co-op, a distribution organization for the dissemination of independent, experimental and avant-garde films. The New York group included, among others, Lionel Rogosin, Shirley Clarke, Robert Frank, Maya Deren, Peter Bogdanovich and Daniel Talbot. Middle years in the United States In 1961 Jonas began shooting Guns of the Trees. Mekas assisted him in all stages of production, writing and editing, and played one of the lead roles in the film. Other actors were Ben Carruthers, Frances Stillman and Argus Speare Juilliard. The controversial film was considered to be a "poetic-political manifesto." In 1963 Mekas's film Hallelujah the Hills was the surprise hit of the Cannes Festival. Subsequently, it was invited to 27 film festivals, including the first New York Film Festival, the London Festival, the Montreal International Film Festival, the Mannheim Film Festival and the Bombay Film Festival; it won the Silver Sail at the Locarno Festival, was invited to a Command Screening for the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace and had a 15-week run at the Fifth Avenue cinema in New York. Time called it "... the weirdest, wooziest, wackiest screen comedy of 1963." Jean-Luc Godard wrote in Cahiers du Cinéma "Hallelujah proved clearly that Adolfas is someone to be reckoned with. He is a master in the field of pure invention, that is to say, in working dangerously – 'without a net.' His film, made according to the good old principle – one idea for each shot – has the lovely scent of fresh ingenuity and crafty sweetness." In 1964 Mekas was hired as post-production coordinator and editor of the independent comedy drama Goldstein, which was co-directed by Ben Manaster and Philip Kaufman. Mekas created a Jewish fable, edited as a fugue. The same year Mekas edited sound and film footage taken by brother Jonas of a performance of The Brig, directed by Judith Malina. It was selected for the New York Film Festival, the London Festival, the Moscow Festival and others and took first prize at the Venice Festival in the documentary category. Variety described it as