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
20 Little Films (2012)
Director
Chinatown Film Project (2009)
Director
Little, Big, and Far (2026)
Director
Makeshift (for Mekas) (2019)
Director
Robert and June (and All the Time in the World) (2025)
Director
R.E.M. - This Film Is On (1991)
Director
Museum Hours (2012)
Director
Half The Battle (2008)
Director
The Foxx and Little Vic (2002)
Director
Just Hold Still (1989)
Director
The Film That Buys the Cinema (2014)
Director
Museum (1997)
Director
Glueman (1989)
Director
Le bled (Buildings in a Field) (2009)
Director
Aerie (2024)
Director
4:44 (from her house home) (1989)
Director
Chain (2004)
Director
Evening's Civil Twilight in Empires of Tin (2008)
Director
Benjamin Smoke (2000)
Director
Black Hole Radio (1992)
Director
Amber City (1999)
Director
Gravity Hill Newsreels-Bella ciao (—)
Director
This Is a History of New York (1987)
Director
Anne Truitt, Working (2010)
Director
R.E.M.: In View 1988-2003 (The Best of R.E.M.) (2003)
Director
We Have an Anchor (2015)
Director
Counting (2015)
Director
Blood Orange Sky (1999)
Director
NYC Weights and Measures (2018)
Director
Vox Populi (2018)
Director
Nightswimming (1995)
Director
The Passage Clock: For Walter Benjamin (2008)
Director
Nice Evening, Transmission Down (2001)
Director
Or Nothing (The Double) (2022)
Director
Little Flags (2000)
Director
Ballad of Philip Guston (2022)
Director
Bury Me Not (2016)
Director
Lost Book Found (1996)
Director
Lucky Three: An Elliott Smith Portrait (1997)
Director
Blessed are the Dreams of Men (2006)
Director
Sonic Cinema: Sparklehorse (2001)
Director
Drink Deep (1991)
Director
Birth of a Nation (2017)
Director
Gravity Hill Newsreels: Occupy Wall Street (2011)
Director
This Climate (2018)
Director
Night Scene New York (2009)
Director
Real Birds (2011)
Director
June Leaf (2024)
Director
Spirit (Smells Like Teen Spirit) (2007)
Director
Robert and June (Cape Breton and NYC) (2024)
Director
Long for the City (Patti Smith in New York) (2009)
Director
Buried in Light (1994)
Director
World Without End (No Reported Incidents) (2016)
Director
Peter Hutton (2016)
Director
Building a Broken Mousetrap (2006)
Director
Helianthus Corner Blues (2013)
Director
On Essex Road (2016)
Director
Light Years (1989)
Director
Crossing Paths with Luce Vigo (2010)
Director
Sketches for Late City Final (1991)
Director
free (2007)
Director