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