Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
J. Hoberman's Film <i>Mission to Mongo</i> Was Avant-Garde Needle In Haystack
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Apr 7, 2012
Modified Apr 7, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Apr 7, 2012
Modified Apr 7, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Back in 1979, former Village Voice film critic and filmmaker J. Hoberman made an avant-garde film called Mission to Mongo, but it was lost to the ages until a curator at the Anthology Film Archives requested a copy from the Queens Museum of Art, which screened it in 1982. Clean up your clutter, people: there may be a culturally significant artifact right under your nose.
QMA's Archives Manager/Curator Louise Weinberg details the search that ended up in a musty stack of film reels in a projector room:
In a bit of a panic the afternoon prior to their visit, the projection booth in our theater came to mind where stacks of reels and cans of film were stored on shelves above the projectors and sound equipment. Remnants of an artistic film program of the museum from the late 1970s into the early 1990s, these films complemented its exhibitions and education programs, but were never technically catalogued into the permanent collection.
The next morning, our world’s fair collection of films was inspected and inventoried in short time. I mentioned the stacks of reels in the projection booth as another possible location, and intrepid detectives Andrew and John enthusiastically volunteered to inspect the 40 or so reels. I left them in the projection booth.
About an hour later, they showed up at my desk holding aloft a large reel of four films spliced together, a compilation of avant-garde shorts. It was the last reel they’d examined. MISSION TO MONGO was the last film on the inside of the reel, one small ¼ inch of celluloid, along with AMERICA IS WAITING by Bruce Conner, RUNAWAY by Standish Lawder, and MYTH IN THE ELECTRIC AGE by Alan Berliner. Strangely, its condition was the best of the remaining copies, due to being stored for so many years in its location at the inside of the reel.
You can watch a film about the discovery of the film below (META), or check out our favorite avant-garde film of all time, Man Gets Hit By Football.
Tagged
avant-garde
experimental film
j hoberman
queens museum of art
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
NYC music in October: The Strokes, a Blink-182 cover band, and Polish experimentalism
An excellent and diverse month of concerts are in store for October.
By
Hank Shteamer
Published Oct 2, 2026 at 11:15 a.m. ET
Are you a New Yorker? The Department of New Yorker Verification will now decide.
There is now an (un)official verification process for those who can claim the title of city resident.
By
Hannah Frishberg
Arts & Entertainment
Are you a New Yorker? The Department of New Yorker Verification will now decide.
There is now an (un)official verification process for those who can claim the title of city resident.
By
Hannah Frishberg
In the mood for a pastoral autumn experience? Try Queens.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
October is spooky season at the movies in New York City
By
Emma Stefansky
At the Museum at FIT, an argument for dolls as the ultimate fashion influencers
By
Quinn Moreland
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .