Ken Jacobs
- Known for
- Directing
- Born
- May 25, 1933
- Died
- October 5, 2025
- Birthplace
- Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, USA
A pioneer of the American film avant-garde of the 1960s and '70s, Ken Jacobs is a central figure in post-war experimental cinema. From his first films of the late 1950s to his recent experiments with digital video, his investigations and innovations have influenced countless artists. A New Yorker by birth, Jacobs graduated from City University to find himself in the midst of the downtown art scene of the 1960s, which included artists Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol, beat writers Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac; and the experimental theater troupes of Trisha Brown and Yvonne Rainer. Although Jacobs had studied painting with Hans Hoffman, he quickly gravitated to film, finding kindred spirits in radical filmmakers such as Jonas Mekas and Hollis Frampton. An early friendship with Jack Smith yielded several collaborations, including the seminal underground films Blonde Cobra (which Jonas Mekas dubbed "the masterpiece of Baudelairean cinema") and Little Stabs at Happiness, as well as a Provincetown beach-based live show, The Human Wreckage Review.
Filmography
Spotted Fever TBA
Director
Depth for One Eye or Two TBA
Director
Sky Dive TBA
Director
About Space and Depth 2026
Actor
Downtown Loft with Skylights 2026
Director
- A Date with Shirley
A Date with Shirley 2026
Director
BOOK OF ETERNALISMS 43 2026
Director
BOOK OF ETERNALISMS 42 2026
Director
BOOK OF ETERNALISMS 41 2026
Director
BOOK OF ETERNALISMS 40 2025
Director
Book of Eternalisms 39 2025
Director
Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse 2025
as Self
- BMT
BMT 2025
Director
- Riverbed
Riverbed 2024
Director
- Tourists of the Familiar 70
Tourists of the Familiar 70 2024
Director
Ken Jacobs - from Orchard Street to the Museum of Modern Art 2023
as Self
Book of Eternalisms 8 2023
Director
Book of Eternalisms 7 2023
Director
- For James Otis
For James Otis 2023
Director
Art-House America: Austin Film Society 2023
as Self
Writhing City 2023
Director
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 2023
Director
Up the Illusion 2023
Actor, Director
From Introduction to Orson Welles’s Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight 2023
Director
Other Urban Lives 2023
Director
Book of Eternalisms 1-6 2023
Director
- Hobgoblin Ball
Hobgoblin Ball 2023
Director
- Manhattan is an Island
Manhattan is an Island 2023
Director
Tourists of the Familiar 10 2023
Director
Tourists of the Familiar 20 2023
Director
Tourists of the Familiar 5 2023
Director
Tourists of the Familiar 1 2023
Director
Tourists of the Familiar 15 2023
Director
Whims of Twenty Twenty-Three 2023
Director
Spasm 2023
Director
Real Action Figures 2022
Director
When Timofeev Moves Everything Moves 2022
Director
- Please Leave a Message: Anthology Film Archives Voicemails Through the Ages
Please Leave a Message: Anthology Film Archives Voicemails Through the Ages 2022
Actor
Fragments of Paradise 2022
as Self
Sergei Eisenstein Embossed 2022
Director
Buster Keaton Embossed 2022
Director
- Eat the Rich: Aligning Perspectives and Other Challenges to Viewers
Eat the Rich: Aligning Perspectives and Other Challenges to Viewers 2022
Director
America Lets Her Hair Down 1905 2022
Director
One Dozen Roses 2022
Director
Eternal Beach 2021
Director
Abstract Eternalism 2021
Director
Double Wow 2021
Director
XCXHXEXRXRXIXEXSX 2021
Editor, Director
- In Front of Anthology
In Front of Anthology 2021
Director
Aspiring To Music 2021
Director
Hoffman Student 2021
Director
Adventures of Cookie Truck 2021
Director
A Small Misunderstanding 2021
Director
Cartoonish 1-10 2021
Director
Movie That Invites Pausing 2020
Director
Transparent Apartments 2020
Director
Spiky 2020
Director
Storefront 2020
Director
Clouds and Trees 2020
Director
Municipal Building Passage 2020
Director
- Bandit
Bandit 2020
Director
Whirlpool 2020
Director
Hubble II 2020
Director
Spaceworks 2020
Director
Halley’s Comet 2020
Director
Water Balloon 2020
Director
Another Day in Days of Yore 2020
Director
Garage Wall 2020
Director
Period Piece 2020
Director
Street Commerce II 2020
Director
Resting Merchant 2020
Director
Street Commerce 2020
Director
Flowers and Bike 2020
Director
Neon Sign 2020
Director
Broadway Buildings III 2020
Director
Broadway Buildings II 2020
Director
Brick Building with Red and Green Windows 2020
Director
Fire Escape 2020
Director
Duck 2020
Director
Broadway Building 2020
Director
Chinese New Years II 2020
Director
Chinese New Years 2020
Director
City Foliage 2020
Director
Bargains 2020
Director
Working Girls (short) 2020
Director
Bison 2020
Director
Friendly Building 2020
Director
Roots of Manhattan 2020
Director
Lazy City 2020
Director
Reading Society 2020
Director
Natural Collage 2020
Director
Waiting Room Window 2020
Director
Sleeping American 2020
Director
Doyer Street 2020
Director
DeKooning Passed 2020
Director
Facade with Face 2020
Director
Foliage in Moving Car Window 2020
Director
Barber 2020
Director
RECIPROCAL 2020
Director
Red Green 2020
Director
Ken and Flo 2020
Director
PAINTED POSTER 2020
Director
Rain Clouds 2020
Director
DR. TOOTHY 2020
Director
Rubble 2020
Director
CRUSH 2019
Director
PAPPY SEES 3D, TOO 2019
Director
Failure 2019
Director
Sebastian and Jonas Leaving the Party 2019
Director
MOVING ROAD 2019
Director
Things to Come 2019
Director
Figures I - V 2019
Director
ABSTRACT 2019
Director
THE WHOLE SHEBANG 2019
Director
Chaos Is Order Misunderstood 2019
Director
Above the Rain 2019
Director
The Sky Socialist: The Environs 2019
Director
Joan Mitchell: Departures 2019
Director
Once Upon a Planet 2019
Director
Details of Pollock's White Light 2019
Director
Dimsum and Dragons 2019
Director
Nervous Magic Lantern: 3D for One or Two Naked Eyes 2019
Director
Cartoon 2019
Director
The Moments: Evening Boat Ride 2018
Director
Tree Stump 2018
Director
Swee’pea’s Favorite Eternalisms 2017
Director
Shelley Duvall is Olive Oyl 2017
Director
- Along the Elevated
Along the Elevated 2017
Director
A Spin Through Night City 2017
Director
- Get Up and Go
Get Up and Go 2017
Director
- Beautiful Dreamer
Beautiful Dreamer 2017
Director
Ulysses in the Subway 2017
Director
- Windbreaker
Windbreaker 2017
Director
- Capitalism Defeats Life on Earth, Cab in Rain
Capitalism Defeats Life on Earth, Cab in Rain 2017
Director
Central Park 2016
Director
Snow in Headlights II 2016
Director
Reichstag 9/11 2016
Director
BMT Canal Street 2016
Director
Mosco Street 3: Attack of The Perfect Camera (Fuji W3) 2016
Director
Mosco Street 2 2016
Director
- Lurking
Lurking 2016
Director
- Molten Landscape
Molten Landscape 2016
Director
Reminiscences of Jonas Mekas 2016
Actor
Ken Jacobs / Tom Chiu of Flux Quartet @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival 2016
Director
Ken Jacobs / Victoria Keddie @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival 2016
Director
Ken Jacobs / Robert Poss @The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival 2016
Director
Ken Jacobs / Rick Reed & Tara Bhattacharya @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival 2016
Director
Ken Jacobs / Ghosts Of The Holy Ghost Spermic Brotherhood @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival 2016
Director
Ken Jacobs / JG Thirlwell @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival 2016
Director
Ken Jacobs / diNMachine @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival 2016
Director
Hydroelectric Dam 2016
Director
- I'm Telling You
I'm Telling You 2016
Director
Empty Seats 2015
Director
Batchellor’s Dog and Beach 2015
Director
Afternoon Tide 2015
Director
- Zazie Learns About Money
Zazie Learns About Money 2015
Director
- Aimless Sightseeing, Seoul
Aimless Sightseeing, Seoul 2015
Director
Chrysalis 2015
Director
- Cyclops Observes the Celestial Bodies
Cyclops Observes the Celestial Bodies 2015
Writer, Director
- Floral
Floral 2015
Director
Granular 2015
Director
The Lackadaisical Speed of Light 2015
Director
- Wire Fence
Wire Fence 2014
Director
Canopy 2014
Director
- Celestial Bodies
Celestial Bodies 2014
Director
- Pygmalion Cubed
Pygmalion Cubed 2014
Director
- The Guests
The Guests 2014
Director
- Popeye Sees 3-D
Popeye Sees 3-D 2014
Director
- A Primer in Sky Socialism
A Primer in Sky Socialism 2013
Director
What Is Cinema? 2013
as Self
The Eternal Courtship 2013
Actor
- Joys of Waiting for the Broadway Bus #3
Joys of Waiting for the Broadway Bus #3 2013
Director
- Joys of Waiting for the Broadway Bus #4
Joys of Waiting for the Broadway Bus #4 2013
Director
Joys of Waiting for the Broadway Bus #1 2013
Director
Joys of Waiting for the Broadway Bus #2 2013
Technical Supervisor, Director
Emma's Dilemma 2012
as Himself
Blankets for Indians 2012
Director
Street Vendor 2012
Director
20 Little Films 2012
Director
60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero 2011
Director
Sleepless Nights Stories 2011
as Self
OCCUPY WALL STREET, THE 99% JOIN IN 2011
Director
Seeking the Monkey King 2011
Director
Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film 2011
as Himself
The Pushcarts Leave Eternity Street 2011
Writer, Director
- America at War, The Home Front: Film Opening
America at War, The Home Front: Film Opening 2011
Director
- Revolving Door
Revolving Door 2011
Director
Turbulent Waters 2011
Director
Cinematic Correspondences: Jonas Mekas - J.L. Guerin 2011
as Himself
The Roses 2011
Director
The Green Wave 2011
Director
Another Occupation 2011
Director, Writer
DAY AND NIGHT 2011
Director
Cyclopean 3D: Life with a Beautiful Woman 2011
Actor, Director
A Loft 2010
Editor, Director
Santos Dumont: Pré-Cineasta? 2010
as Himself
- Fair And White: Parts I, II, III and Extra
Fair And White: Parts I, II, III and Extra 2010
Director
- Sensoriums at Sea: Toothy Two
Sensoriums at Sea: Toothy Two 2010
Director
The Near-Collision 2010
Director
- Sensoriums at Sea: Dr. Toothy's New Entranceway
Sensoriums at Sea: Dr. Toothy's New Entranceway 2010
Director
Lavender 2010
as Self
Jonas Mekas in Kodachrome Days 2009
Director
Excerpt From THE SKY SOCIALIST Stratified 2009
Director
Walkway 2009
Director
Brook 2009
Director
Brain Operations 2009
Director
Bob Fleischner Dying 2009
Director
What Happened on 23rd Street in 1901 2009
Director
- Berkeley To San Francisco
Berkeley To San Francisco 2009
Director
"Slow is Beauty"-Rodin 2009
Director
- Hot Dogs At The Met
Hot Dogs At The Met 2009
Director
Gravity Is Tops 2009
Director
- Ronald Gonzales, Sculptor
Ronald Gonzales, Sculptor 2009
Director
The Signing 2009
Director
The Day Was a Scorcher 2009
Director, Writer
Return to the Scene of the Crime 2008
Director
- Alone at Last
Alone at Last 2008
Director
Amorous Interludes: His Favorite Wife Improved (or The Virtue Of Bad Reception) 2008
Director
- The Discovery
The Discovery 2008
Director
- Elbow Dance
Elbow Dance 2008
Director
The Scenic Route 2008
Director
- Love Story
Love Story 2008
Director
Anaglyph Tom (Tom with Puffy Cheeks) 2008
Director
Momma's Man 2008
as Dad
365 Day Project 2007
as Self
We Are Charming 2007
Director
Hanky Panky January 1902 2007
Director
Nymph 2007
Director
Gift of Fire: Nineteen (Obscure) Frames That Changed The World 2007
Director
- Popeye Sees 3-D, TOO
Popeye Sees 3-D, TOO 2007
Director
- Mosco Street Rapture
Mosco Street Rapture 2007
Director
- Titles
Titles 2007
Director
Capitalism: Slavery 2007
Director
Razzle Dazzle: The Lost World 2007
Director
Nervous Lantern at Kill Your Timid Notion Festival 2007
Director
Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis 2007
as Self
New York Ghetto Fishmarket 1903 2007
Director, Producer
Capitalism: Child Labor 2007
Director
Monks of Cinema 2006
Camera Operator
Pushcarts of Eternity Street 2006
Director
Two Wrenching Departures 2006
Director
- The Surging Sea of Humanity
The Surging Sea of Humanity 2006
Director
Celestial Subway Lines/Salvaging Noise 2005
Director, Editor, Producer
Le Prince: Leeds Bridge 1888 2005
Director
Insistent Clamor 2005
Director
Ontic Antics Starring Laurel and Hardy: Bye Molly 2005
Director
Spiral Nebula 2005
Director, Writer
Krypton Is Doomed 2005
Director
Let There Be Whistle Blowers 2005
Director
- Mountaineer Spinning
Mountaineer Spinning 2004
Director
Star Spangled to Death 2004
as Oscar Friendly / Ringmaster / Janitor, Director, Cinematography, Writer, Editor
Nervous Ken 2003
Actor
Keeping an Eye on Stan 2003
Director
The Whirled 2003
Director
- Shorts From the Underground
Shorts From the Underground 2002
as Self
Circling Zero: Part One, We See Absence 2002
Director
The Sky Socialist: Flight 2002
Director
A Tom Tom Chaser 2002
Director
- Flo and Ken Jacobs
Flo and Ken Jacobs 2001
Actor
As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty 2000
as Self
New York Street Trolleys 1900 1999
Director
Flo Rounds a Corner 1999
Director
- Laboratorium Anthology
Laboratorium Anthology 1999
Actor
Birth of a Nation 1997
as Self
Disorient Express 1996
Director
The Georgetown Loop 1996
Director
Looting For Rodney 1995
Director
- Make Light On Film
Make Light On Film 1995
Director
Bitemporal Vision: The Sea 1994
Director
Jonas in the Desert 1994
as Self
Quartet Number One 1991
Actor
Keaton's Cops 1991
Writer, Director
Opening the Nineteenth Century: 1896 1991
Director, Writer
Chronometer 1990
Director
- The Alps and The Jews
The Alps and The Jews 1986
Director
He Stands in a Desert Counting the Seconds of His Life 1986
as Self (archive footage)
Perfect Film 1985
Director
Home Movies 1971-81 1985
Actor
The Doctor's Dream 1977
Director
Book of Splendors, Part Two, Book of Levers: Action at a Distance 1977
Director
Lost, Lost, Lost 1976
as Self
Spaghetti Aza 1976
Director
Jerry Takes A Back Seat, Then Passes Out Of The Picture 1975
Director
Urban Peasants 1975
Director
Horizons 1973
Actor
Notes on the Buffalo Conference: “Autobiography in American Independent Cinema” 1973
Actor
- Changing Azazel
Changing Azazel 1973
Director
Binghamton, My India 1970
Director
- Nissan Ariana Window
Nissan Ariana Window 1969
Director
Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son 1969
Director
Globe 1969
Director
Huge Pupils 1968
as Himself
Diaries, Notes, and Sketches 1968
as Self
Soft Rain 1968
Director
For Life, Against the War 1967
Director
Airshaft 1967
Director
Bill's Hat 1967
Actor
The Sky Socialist 1966
Director
Lisa and Joey in Connecticut 1965
Director
- Naomi Is A Dream of Loveliness
Naomi Is A Dream of Loveliness 1965
Director
1st Window 1964
Director
Window 1964
Cinematography, Director, Producer, Editor
- We Stole Away
We Stole Away 1964
Director
The Winter Footage 1964
Director
- Winter Sky
Winter Sky 1964
Director
Artie and Marty Rosenblatt’s Baby Pictures 1964
Director
Little Stabs at Happiness 1963
Director
TV Plug 1963
Director
Blonde Cobra 1963
Actor, Director
Scotch Tape 1963
Actor
Baud'larian Capers 1962
Director
The Death of P'town 1961
Director
Little Cobra Dance 1956
Director
Saturday Afternoon Blood Sacrifice 1956
Director
Orchard Street 1955
Director
Credits from TMDB.