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Jem Cohen

January 24, 2023

Jem Alan Cohen (born 1962) is an Afghan-born American filmmaker based in New York City. Cohen is especially known for his observational portraits of urban landscapes, blending of media formats (sixteen-millimetre, Super 8, videotape) and collaborations with musicians.[1] He is the recipient of the Independent Spirit Award for feature filmmaking. "Cohen's films have been broadcast in Europe by the BBC and ZDF/ARTE, and in the United States by the Sundance Channel and P.B.S. They are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney, The National Gallery of Art, and Melbourne's Screen Gallery."[2] He also makes multichannel installations and still photographs and had a photography show at Robert Miller Gallery in 2009. He has received grants from the Guggenheim, Creative Capital, Rockefeller and Alpert Foundations, the National Endowment for the Arts, and other organizations.[3]

Early life

Cohen was born in Kabul, Afghanistan where his father was working for Columbia University, Teachers College and the United States Agency for International Development (U.S.A.I.D.).[4] He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1984, with a concentration in film and photography.

Career

Cohen found the mainstream Hollywood film industry incompatible with his sociopolitical and artistic views. By applying the D.I.Y. ethos of Punk Rock to his film-making approach, he crafted a distinct style in his films through various small gauge formats of Super 8, sixteen-millimetre, and videotape. In an interview with web-site The Lamp, Cohen said, "...it's very inspiring to me, to see people kind of take something outside of the industry, outside of the music industry, and it gave me something of a template to work in film outside of the film industry. And there are certainly strains of punk that are activist and that are kind of oppositional in nature to the dominant mainstream culture... that's very inspiring to me..."

Cohen's longer works include his feature film, Museum Hours, Chain, and the experimental documentary, Instrument, a portrait of the D.C. punk band Fugazi that was ten years in the making. Benjamin Smoke, about the life of the frontman of the Atlanta, Georgia band Smoke, covers a ten-year arc. Other works of note are Lost Book Found, his Walter Benjamin-inspired portrait of New York City, Buried in Light, a series of connected Central and Eastern European city portraits, and his short film about the late Elliott Smith, Lucky Three. In 2002, Cohen made Chain X Three, a precursor to the Chain feature film, which was exhibited as a three-channel installation. His concert film of the Dutch band The Ex, Building a Broken Mousetrap, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2006.

Cohen was a resident at Eyebeam in 2002.[5][6]

In 2005, Cohen curated the four-day FUSEBOX Festival in Ghent, Belgium. A celebratory gathering "at the crossroads of film, music, and activism," participants included Guy Picciotto of Fugazi, Patti Smith and Tom Verlaine, The Evens, and a side project of Montreal's Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, called Thee Silver Mountain Elegies Play War Radio, which formed for the occasion.

Other music artists Cohen has collaborated with over the years include Patti Smith, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Vic Chesnutt, Terry Riley, Sparklehorse, R.E.M., Xylouris White, Jessica Moss, Matana Roberts, T.Griffin, Stephen Vitiello, Miracle Legion, DJ /rupture, Blonde Redhead, and The Ex.

He has also cited that he has previously worked for the film industry as a technician and prop man, some of the directors he has worked under include Alex Cox, John Sayles, and Martin Scorsese.

Photographer Sid Grossman had been married to Cohen's mother. Grossman was the father of his (half) brother Adam, also a filmmaker.

Filmography

  • A Road in Florida (1983)
  • Witness (1986)
  • This Is a History of New York (The Golden Age of Reason) (1987)
  • Selected City Films (1989)
  • Talk About the Passion (1989) collaboration with R.E.M.
  • You're the One Lee (1989) collaboration with Miracle Legion
  • Glue Man (1989) collaboration with Fugazi
  • Light Years (1989)
  • Love Teller (1989) collaboration with Ben Katchor
  • Never Change (1988) text by Blake Nelson
  • 4:44 (from her house) (1989)
  • What does Away Mean? PSA (1989)
  • Marks Town (1991)
  • Drink Deep (1991)
  • Black Hole Radio (1992) single channel version and video installation
  • Nightswimming (1993)
  • Drift (1993)
  • Buried in Light (1993)
  • Sun Project (1994)
  • Coney Island End of God the Way It Must Be (1996)
  • Lost Book Found (1996)
  • Lucky Three (1997)
  • Amber City (1999)
  • Instrument (1999)
  • Blood Orange Sky (1999)
  • Waterfront Diaries (New York) (2000)
  • Nice Evening, Transmission Down (2001)
  • Little Flags (2000)
  • Benjamin Smoke (2000)
  • George Thief (2002)
  • The Foxx and Little Vic (2002)
  • Cat Power: Live from Fur City (2002)
  • Chain X Three (2002)
  • Chain (2004)
  • NYC Weights and Measures (2005)
  • Blessed Are the Dreams of Men (2006)
  • Building a Broken Mouse Trap (2006)
  • Free (2007)
  • Spirit (2007)
  • Empires of Tin (2007)
  • Long for the City (2008)
  • Half the Battle (2008)
  • The Passage Clock (For Walter Benjamin) (2008)
  • Anne Truitt, Working (2009)
  • Night Scene New York (2009,
  • Le Bled (Buildings in a Field) (2009) with writer Luc Sante
  • One Bright Day (2009)
  • Crossing Paths With Luce Vigo (2010)
  • Gravity Hill NEWSREELS (2011/12)
  • Museum Hours (2012)
  • We Have an Anchor (2015)
  • Counting (2015)

References

  1. ^ "Movie Nights with Jem Cohen – IFC Center". Ifccenter.com. Retrieved 2012-09-15.
  2. ^ Vdb.org. Archived from the original on 2008-11-17. Retrieved 2012-09-15.
  3. ^ "Jem Cohen - Media Arts Fellow". Mediaartists.org. Retrieved 2012-09-15.
  4. ^ "In focus: Jem Cohen on Museum Hours". BFI Film Forever. April 14, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  5. ^ "Jem Cohen | eyebeam.org". Eyebeam. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  6. ^ "Creative Capital - Investing in Artists who Shape the Future". creative-capital.org. Retrieved 2016-01-28.

External links

  • Jem Cohen at IMDb
  • Jem Cohen's website
  • Jem Cohen's Creative Capital Profile
  • in the Video Data Bank
  • Interview with Indiewire
  • "Free" video
  • Benjamin Smoke
  • An interview with Jem Cohen, director of Museum Hours:"Art is something people do like breathing.", with David Walsh on the World Socialist Web Site
  • Jem Cohen's BOMB interview by J.P. Sniadecki

January 24, 2023
cohen, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that, unsourced, poorly, sourced, must, removed, immediately, especially, potentially, l. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately especially if potentially libelous or harmful Find sources Jem Cohen news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message Jem Alan Cohen born 1962 is an Afghan born American filmmaker based in New York City Cohen is especially known for his observational portraits of urban landscapes blending of media formats sixteen millimetre Super 8 videotape and collaborations with musicians 1 He is the recipient of the Independent Spirit Award for feature filmmaking Cohen s films have been broadcast in Europe by the BBC and ZDF ARTE and in the United States by the Sundance Channel and P B S They are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art The Whitney The National Gallery of Art and Melbourne s Screen Gallery 2 He also makes multichannel installations and still photographs and had a photography show at Robert Miller Gallery in 2009 He has received grants from the Guggenheim Creative Capital Rockefeller and Alpert Foundations the National Endowment for the Arts and other organizations 3 Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Filmography 4 References 5 External linksEarly life EditCohen was born in Kabul Afghanistan where his father was working for Columbia University Teachers College and the United States Agency for International Development U S A I D 4 He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1984 with a concentration in film and photography Career EditCohen found the mainstream Hollywood film industry incompatible with his sociopolitical and artistic views By applying the D I Y ethos of Punk Rock to his film making approach he crafted a distinct style in his films through various small gauge formats of Super 8 sixteen millimetre and videotape In an interview with web site The Lamp Cohen said it s very inspiring to me to see people kind of take something outside of the industry outside of the music industry and it gave me something of a template to work in film outside of the film industry And there are certainly strains of punk that are activist and that are kind of oppositional in nature to the dominant mainstream culture that s very inspiring to me Cohen s longer works include his feature film Museum Hours Chain and the experimental documentary Instrument a portrait of the D C punk band Fugazi that was ten years in the making Benjamin Smoke about the life of the frontman of the Atlanta Georgia band Smoke covers a ten year arc Other works of note are Lost Book Found his Walter Benjamin inspired portrait of New York City Buried in Light a series of connected Central and Eastern European city portraits and his short film about the late Elliott Smith Lucky Three In 2002 Cohen made Chain X Three a precursor to the Chain feature film which was exhibited as a three channel installation His concert film of the Dutch band The Ex Building a Broken Mousetrap premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2006 Cohen was a resident at Eyebeam in 2002 5 6 In 2005 Cohen curated the four day FUSEBOX Festival in Ghent Belgium A celebratory gathering at the crossroads of film music and activism participants included Guy Picciotto of Fugazi Patti Smith and Tom Verlaine The Evens and a side project of Montreal s Thee Silver Mt Zion Memorial Orchestra amp Tra La La Band called Thee Silver Mountain Elegies Play War Radio which formed for the occasion Other music artists Cohen has collaborated with over the years include Patti Smith Godspeed You Black Emperor Vic Chesnutt Terry Riley Sparklehorse R E M Xylouris White Jessica Moss Matana Roberts T Griffin Stephen Vitiello Miracle Legion DJ rupture Blonde Redhead and The Ex He has also cited that he has previously worked for the film industry as a technician and prop man some of the directors he has worked under include Alex Cox John Sayles and Martin Scorsese Photographer Sid Grossman had been married to Cohen s mother Grossman was the father of his half brother Adam also a filmmaker Filmography EditA Road in Florida 1983 Witness 1986 This Is a History of New York The Golden Age of Reason 1987 Selected City Films 1989 Talk About the Passion 1989 collaboration with R E M You re the One Lee 1989 collaboration with Miracle Legion Glue Man 1989 collaboration with Fugazi Light Years 1989 Love Teller 1989 collaboration with Ben Katchor Never Change 1988 text by Blake Nelson 4 44 from her house 1989 What does Away Mean PSA 1989 Marks Town 1991 Drink Deep 1991 Black Hole Radio 1992 single channel version and video installation Nightswimming 1993 Drift 1993 Buried in Light 1993 Sun Project 1994 Coney Island End of God the Way It Must Be 1996 Lost Book Found 1996 Lucky Three 1997 Amber City 1999 Instrument 1999 Blood Orange Sky 1999 Waterfront Diaries New York 2000 Nice Evening Transmission Down 2001 Little Flags 2000 Benjamin Smoke 2000 George Thief 2002 The Foxx and Little Vic 2002 Cat Power Live from Fur City 2002 Chain X Three 2002 Chain 2004 NYC Weights and Measures 2005 Blessed Are the Dreams of Men 2006 Building a Broken Mouse Trap 2006 Free 2007 Spirit 2007 Empires of Tin 2007 Long for the City 2008 Half the Battle 2008 The Passage Clock For Walter Benjamin 2008 Anne Truitt Working 2009 Night Scene New York 2009 Le Bled Buildings in a Field 2009 with writer Luc Sante One Bright Day 2009 Crossing Paths With Luce Vigo 2010 Gravity Hill NEWSREELS 2011 12 Museum Hours 2012 We Have an Anchor 2015 Counting 2015 References Edit Movie Nights with Jem Cohen IFC Center Ifccenter com Retrieved 2012 09 15 Opus Luminis et Hominis Vdb org Archived from the original on 2008 11 17 Retrieved 2012 09 15 Jem Cohen Media Arts Fellow Mediaartists org Retrieved 2012 09 15 In focus Jem Cohen on Museum Hours BFI Film Forever April 14 2014 Retrieved May 26 2015 Jem Cohen eyebeam org Eyebeam Retrieved 28 January 2016 Creative Capital Investing in Artists who Shape the Future creative capital org Retrieved 2016 01 28 External links EditJem Cohen at IMDb Jem Cohen s website Jem Cohen s Creative Capital Profile Just Hold Still A Conversation with Jem Cohen Jem Cohen in the Video Data Bank Jem Cohen Lost Book Found Interview with Indiewire Free video Benjamin Smoke An interview with Jem Cohen director of Museum Hours Art is something people do like breathing with David Walsh on the World Socialist Web Site Jem Cohen s BOMB interview by J P Sniadecki Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jem Cohen amp oldid 1129667463, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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