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
Instrument (1999)
Director
Little, Big, and Far (2026)
Director
R.E.M.: In View 1988-2003 (The Best of R.E.M.) (2003)
Director
20 Little Films (2012)
Director
Museum Hours (2012)
Director
Chinatown Film Project (2009)
Director
The Film That Buys the Cinema (2014)
Director
Robert and June (and All the Time in the World) (2025)
Director
Glueman (1989)
Director
The Foxx and Little Vic (2002)
Director
Chain (2004)
Director
Benjamin Smoke (2000)
Director
R.E.M. - This Film Is On (1991)
Director
Lucky Three: An Elliott Smith Portrait (1997)
Director
Long for the City (Patti Smith in New York) (2009)
Director
Counting (2015)
Director
Lost Book Found (1996)
Director
Makeshift (for Mekas) (2019)
Director
Vox Populi (2018)
Director
Le bled (Buildings in a Field) (2009)
Director
Sonic Cinema: Sparklehorse (2001)
Director
Drink Deep (1991)
Director
The Passage Clock: For Walter Benjamin (2008)
Director
Black Hole Radio (1992)
Director
Half The Battle (2008)
Director
Crossing Paths with Luce Vigo (2010)
Director
Buried in Light (1994)
Director
This Climate (2018)
Director
World Without End (No Reported Incidents) (2016)
Director
This Is a History of New York (1987)
Director
Just Hold Still (1989)
Director
Building a Broken Mousetrap (2006)
Director
On Essex Road (2016)
Director
Sketches for Late City Final (1991)
Director
Real Birds (2011)
Director
Or Nothing (The Double) (2022)
Director
Little Flags (2000)
Director
Evening's Civil Twilight in Empires of Tin (2008)
Director
Nice Evening, Transmission Down (2001)
Director
Robert and June (Cape Breton and NYC) (2024)
Director
Light Years (1989)
Director
Spirit (Smells Like Teen Spirit) (2007)
Director
Birth of a Nation (2017)
Director
NYC Weights and Measures (2018)
Director
Peter Hutton (2016)
Director
Museum (1997)
Director
Amber City (1999)
Director
Ballad of Philip Guston (2022)
Director
4:44 (from her house home) (1989)
Director
June Leaf (2024)
Director
Bury Me Not (2016)
Director
We Have an Anchor (2015)
Director
Blessed are the Dreams of Men (2006)
Director
Night Scene New York (2009)
Director
Blood Orange Sky (1999)
Director
Anne Truitt, Working (2010)
Director
Gravity Hill Newsreels-Bella ciao (—)
Director
A Tale of Two Cities (Viennale Trailer 2007) (2007)
Director
Helianthus Corner Blues (2013)
Director
Gravity Hill Newsreels: Occupy Wall Street (2011)
Director