James Benning
- Known for
- Directing
- Born
- December 28, 1942
- Birthplace
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Over the past thirty-five years James Benning (b. 1942) has played a central role in the history of American independent cinema by offering his rigorously structured yet wonderfully graceful films as extended meditations on the American landscape and its social and environmental histories. Benning’s life and work have been shaped by his passionate wanderlust—born in Milwaukee, he lived for intervals in Colorado, the Missouri Ozarks, Illinois and Oklahoma before settling in Val Verde, California in 1987, with car and motorcycle journeys around the country generating such films as I-94 (1975) and Four Corners (1997). His career has been equally restless, ranging from his early experimentation with an avant-garde aesthetic to his embrace, during the 1980s and 90s, of explicitly autobiographical elements and increased human content. With his “California Trilogy” (2000-2001) Benning entered a new phase, refining his formalist style and political concerns while distilling his abiding interest in place and exacting organizational structures.
Filmography
- Eden
Eden TBA
Director
- Hwy 1
Hwy 1 TBA
Director
- Two Skies
Two Skies TBA
Director
Eight Bridges 2026
Director
Adulthood 2026
Writer
Little Boy 2025
Director
- Cuba, an Historical Romance
Cuba, an Historical Romance 2024
Director
Breathless 2024
Director
Allensworth 2022
Director, Producer
TEN YEARS LATER 2022
Director
Exquisite Moving Corpse 2022
Director
The United States of America 2022
Director, Writer
Benning's Dream 2021
as Self (voice)
In Process... 2021
Director
From Bakersfield to Mojave 2021
Director
- Dancing in the Street, 11 grados de separación
Dancing in the Street, 11 grados de separación 2020
Director
On Paradise Road 2020
Actor, Director
PLACE 2020
Director
She Dies Tomorrow 2020
as Leatherman
Maggie's Farm 2020
Director, Editor, Writer, Director of Photography
中孚 61. The Inner Truth 2019
Actor
daylight 2019
Director
Two Moons 2019
Director
The Wrecker Kings 2019
Thanks
Telemundo 2018
as Himself, Director, Producer
after Traylor. Thoreau cabin (2008-2018) 2018
Director
glory 2018
Director
- Birth of a Nation
Birth of a Nation 2018
Director
L. Cohen 2018
as Himself, Director
- SAM
SAM 2018
Director
Readers 2017
Director
- Untitled Fragments
Untitled Fragments 2017
Director
- Ash 01
Ash 01 2016
Director
- scorched earth
scorched earth 2016
Director
- wavelength
wavelength 2016
Director
Fall Equinox 2016
Director
- thinking of red
thinking of red 2016
Actor, Director
Spring Equinox 2016
Director
Measuring Change 2016
Director
- Fresh Air
Fresh Air 2016
Director
Santa Teresa & Other Stories 2015
Thanks
Perimeter 2015
Director
52 Films 2015
Director
- Concord Woods
Concord Woods 2014
Director
Natural History 2014
Director
- HF
HF 2014
Director
signs 2014
Director
- US 41
US 41 2014
Director
Data Entry 2014
Director
- FUCK ME (orange)
FUCK ME (orange) 2014
Director
- FUCK ME (green)
FUCK ME (green) 2014
Director
Coming to Terms 2013
as The Father
Double Play: James Benning and Richard Linklater 2013
as Self
BNSF 2013
Director
The War 2012
Director
One Way Boogie Woogie 2012
Director
Easy Rider 2012
Director, Writer, Editor, Director of Photography, Producer
Stemple Pass 2012
as Ted Kaczynski (voice), Director, Producer, Editor, Director of Photography
Postscript 2012
Director
Nightfall 2012
Director
20 Little Films 2012
Director
All That She Surveys 2012
Writer
Maintenance 2012
as Himself
After Warhol 2011
Director
Faces 2011
Director
Small Roads 2011
Director
Two Cabins 2011
Director
YouTube Trilogy: 4 Songs, History, Asian Girls 2011
Director
Twenty Cigarettes 2011
Director, Writer
The Great Gatsby in Five Minutes 2011
as Owl Eyes
Tulare Road 2010
Director
Pig Iron 2010
Producer, Writer, Director, Director of Photography
- Reforming the Past
Reforming the Past 2010
Director
- Faces 1973
Faces 1973 2010
Director
John Krieg Exiting the Falk Corporation in 1971 2010
Director
Among Enemies: Jeonju Digital Project 2010 2010
Director
Ruhr 2009
Director, Editor, Director of Photography, Writer, Sound Editor
Fire & Rain 2009
Director
- Lunch Break
Lunch Break 2008
Editor
RR 2007
Director
Casting a Glance 2007
Editor, Director, Producer, Director of Photography, Sound
Water Spell 2007
Thanks
One Way Boogie Woogie/27 Years Later 2005
Director
74.78 2005
Director
Ten Skies 2004
Director, Producer
13 Lakes 2004
Director
James Benning: Circling the Image 2003
as Himself
Sogobi 2002
Director
Los 2001
Director
El Valley Centro 2000
Director
Utopia 1998
Director
Four Corners 1997
as Narrator, Director
Deseret 1996
Director
Panama: Exploring the Panama Canal 1995
Director
North on Evers 1992
Director
Forevermore: Biography of a Leach Lord 1989
Actor, Thanks
Used Innocence 1989
as (voice), Director, Writer
TABLE TOP 1988
Director
Landscape Suicide 1987
Director, Writer, Director of Photography, Producer, Editor
O Panama 1985
Sound, Director of Photography, Editor, Director
American Dreams (Lost and Found) 1984
Director
- Pascal's Lemma
Pascal's Lemma 1984
Director
Him and Me 1982
Director
Grand Opera: An Historical Romance 1979
Director, Writer
11 x 14 1977
Director, Writer, Producer, Editor, Director of Photography
One Way Boogie Woogie 1977
Director, Writer
Chicago Loop 1976
Director
9-1-75 1975
Director
The United States of America 1975
Actor, Director
- 3 Minutes on the Dangers of Film Recording
3 Minutes on the Dangers of Film Recording 1975
Director
Michigan Avenue 1974
Director
8½ x 11 1974
Director
I-94 1974
Director
Time and a Half 1972
Director
- Did You Ever Hear That Cricket Sound?
Did You Ever Hear That Cricket Sound? 1971
Director
Credits from TMDB.