Jem Cohen
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Roles are weighted by involvement: director 1.0, screenwriter 0.7, lead 0.8, supporting 0.4, crew 0.1.
Born in Afghanistan, Jem Cohen is an American experimental filmmaker and photographer, especially known for his observational portraits of urban landscapes, blending of media formats, and collaborations with musicians. Cohen has worked extensively with musicians including Patti Smith, Fugazi, Terry Riley, R.E.M., Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Xylouris White, DJ Rupture, the Ex, Elliott Smith, Vic Chesnutt, Mary Margaret O’Hara, Matana Roberts, Jessica Moss, Jonathan Richman, T.Griffin/Catherine McRae, White Magic, and the Orpheus Orchestra with Gil Shaham, and has collaborated with writers Luc Sante and Sam Stephenson, and graphic artist Ben Katchor.
Known for
Credits
20 Little Films (2012)
Director
Little, Big, and Far (2026)
Director
R.E.M. - This Film Is On (1991)
Director
Counting (2015)
Director
Museum Hours (2012)
Director
R.E.M.: In View 1988-2003 (The Best of R.E.M.) (2003)
Director
Instrument (1999)
Director
Chinatown Film Project (2009)
Director
Lucky Three: An Elliott Smith Portrait (1997)
Director
Le bled (Buildings in a Field) (2009)
Director
Chain (2004)
Director
The Film That Buys the Cinema (2014)
Director
Black Hole Radio (1992)
Director
June Leaf (2024)
Director
Robert and June (and All the Time in the World) (2025)
Director
Lost Book Found (1996)
Director
Long for the City (Patti Smith in New York) (2009)
Director
Benjamin Smoke (2000)
Director
Sonic Cinema: Sparklehorse (2001)
Director
This Is a History of New York (1987)
Director
Evening's Civil Twilight in Empires of Tin (2008)
Director
MARC RIBOT FEAT. TOM WAITS – Bella Ciao (Goodbye Beautiful) (2018)
Director
Spirit (Smells Like Teen Spirit) (2007)
Director
Vox Populi (2018)
Director
The Passage Clock: For Walter Benjamin (2008)
Director
Little Flags (2000)
Director
Anne Truitt, Working (2010)
Director
Birth of a Nation (2017)
Director
Amber City (1999)
Director
Crossing Paths with Luce Vigo (2010)
Director
Just Hold Still (1989)
Director
Makeshift (for Mekas) (2019)
Director
Sketches for Late City Final (1991)
Director
Half The Battle (2008)
Director
free (2007)
Director
Night Scene New York (2009)
Director
Drink Deep (1991)
Director
The Foxx and Little Vic (2002)
Director
On Essex Road (2016)
Director
Gravity Hill Newsreels: Occupy Wall Street (2011)
Director
Glueman (1989)
Director
Tree Song (2019)
Director
Buried in Light (1994)
Director
4:44 (from her house home) (1989)
Director
Nice Evening, Transmission Down (2001)
Director
Aerie (2024)
Director
Museum (1997)
Director
Nightswimming (1995)
Director
NYC Weights and Measures (2018)
Director
We Have an Anchor (2015)
Director
Or Nothing (The Double) (2022)
Director
Opened Ending (2020)
Director
Ballad of Philip Guston (2022)
Director
Peter Hutton (2016)
Director
Building a Broken Mousetrap (2006)
Director
Blessed are the Dreams of Men (2006)
Director
Helianthus Corner Blues (2013)
Director
Gravity Hill Newsreels-Bella ciao (—)
Director
Bury Me Not (2016)
Director
Real Birds (2011)
Director
This Climate (2018)
Director
Light Years (1989)
Director
Robert and June (Cape Breton and NYC) (2024)
Director
World Without End (No Reported Incidents) (2016)
Director
Blood Orange Sky (1999)
Director