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