James Benning (film director)
Encyclopedia
James Benning is an American
filmmaker. He is the son of German immigrants and studied film at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
(1975) under the tutelage of David Bordwell
. Working as an independent filmmaker
, Benning's films focus on a sense of place, and are often built from long, unedited take
s. He used to work in Chicago but in recent years has been based on the West Coast
. In 2003, Reinhard Wulf made a 90 minute documentary about Benning and his films called James Benning: Circling the Image. In 2007, the Austrian Film Museum published a book of texts on his work.
In addition to his film work, Benning has held professorships at Bard College
and Northwestern University
, and since 1987, he has taught film-making and experimental sound at the California Institute of the Arts
.
His daughter is experimental filmmaker and musician Sadie Benning
.
¹ Part of the so-called California trilogy
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
filmmaker. He is the son of German immigrants and studied film at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
(1975) under the tutelage of David Bordwell
David Bordwell
David Bordwell is an American film theorist and film historian. Since receiving his PhD from the University of Iowa in 1974, he has written more than fifteen volumes on the subject of cinema including Narration in the Fiction Film , Ozu and the Poetics of Cinema , Making Meaning , and On the...
. Working as an independent filmmaker
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
, Benning's films focus on a sense of place, and are often built from long, unedited take
Take
A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production.-Film:In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup"...
s. He used to work in Chicago but in recent years has been based on the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
. In 2003, Reinhard Wulf made a 90 minute documentary about Benning and his films called James Benning: Circling the Image. In 2007, the Austrian Film Museum published a book of texts on his work.
In addition to his film work, Benning has held professorships at Bard College
Bard College
Bard College, founded in 1860 as "St. Stephen's College", is a small four-year liberal arts college located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.-Location:...
and Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, and since 1987, he has taught film-making and experimental sound at the California Institute of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
.
His daughter is experimental filmmaker and musician Sadie Benning
Sadie Benning
Sadie Benning is a video maker, visual artist, and musician.She first made her name in the early 1990s as a teenage video maker from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Raised by her mother in inner-city Milwaukee, Benning left school at age 16, primarily due to the homophobia she experienced...
.
Filmography
- Did You Ever Hear That Cricket Sound? (1971)
- Time and a Half (1972)
- Ode to Muzak (1972)
- Art Hist. 101 (1972)
- Michigan Avenue (1973)
- Honeyland Road (1973)
- 57 (1973)
- I-94 (1974)
- Gleem (1974)
- 8½ × 11 (1974)
- United States of America, The (1975)
- Saturday Night (1975)
- An Erotic Film (1975)
- 9-1-75 (1975)
- 3 Minutes on the Dangers of Film Recording (1975)
- Chicago Loop (1976)
- A to B (1976)
- One Way Boogie Woogie (1977)
- 11 × 14 (1977)
- Grand Opera (1978)
- Four Oil Wells (1978)
- Oklahoma (1979)
- Double Yodel (1980)
- Last Dance (1981)
- Him and Me (1982)
- American Dreams (1984)
- O Panama (1985)
- Landscape Suicide (1986)
- Used Innocence (1989)
- North on Evers (1992)
- Deseret (1995)
- Four Corners (1997)
- Utopia (1998)
- El Valley Centro ¹ (2000)
- B-52 (2001) (Sound only)
- Sogobi¹ (2001)
- Los¹ (2001)
- 13 Lakes (2004)
- Ten Skies (2004)
- One Way Boogie Woogie/27 Years Later (2005)
- Casting a Glance (2007)
- RRRR (film)RR is a 2008 film by American, James Benning. Shot in 16 mm film, as most of Benning's films are, RR is another in Benning's series of American experimental landscape films; this one focusing on trains and their surrounding environs...
(2007) - Ruhr (2009)
- John Krieg Exiting the Falk Corporation in 1971 (2010)
- Twenty Cigarettes (2011)
¹ Part of the so-called California trilogy
External links
- James Benning faculty profile at CalArts
- Interview with Senses of Cinema
- Interview with journalist Neil Young (2002)
- James Benning's Art of Landscape:Ontological, Pedagogical, Sacrilegious
- "TORTURED LANDSCAPES"
- American Filmmaker - James Benning-Retrospective at the Austrian Film Museum
- Revue Independencia
- The Films of James Benning by Canyon Cinema
- Darren Hughes, "Naked Repose: A Conversation with James Benning about Twenty Cigarettes," MUBI, October 7, 2011.