James Benning
Directing
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.
Known for
Directing97
movieEight Bridges
2026
Director
movieLittle Boy
2025
Director
movieBreathless
2024
Director
movieAllensworth
2022
Director
movieTEN YEARS LATER
2022
Director
movieExquisite Moving Corpse
2022
Director
movieIn Process...
2021
Director
movieOn Paradise Road
2020
Director
moviePLACE
2020
Director
movieMaggie's Farm
2020
Director
moviedaylight
2019
Director
movieTwo Moons
2019
Director
movieTelemundo
2018
Director
movieglory
2018
Director
movieL. Cohen
2018
Director
SAM
2018
Director
movieReaders
2017
Director
Ash 01
2016
Director
movieFall Equinox
2016
Director
wavelength
2016
Director
movieSpring Equinox
2016
Director
movieMeasuring Change
2016
Director
Fresh Air
2016
Director
moviePerimeter
2015
Director
movie52 Films
2015
Director
movieNatural History
2014
Director
US 41
2014
Director
moviesigns
2014
Director
HF
2014
Director
movieBNSF
2013
Director
movieThe War
2012
Director
movieOne Way Boogie Woogie
2012
Director
movieEasy Rider
2012
Director
movieStemple Pass
2012
Director
moviePostscript
2012
Director
movieNightfall
2012
Director
movie20 Little Films
2012
Director
movieAfter Warhol
2011
Director
movieFaces
2011
Director
movieSmall Roads
2011
Director
movieTwo Cabins
2011
Director
movieTwenty Cigarettes
2011
Director
movieTulare Road
2010
Director
moviePig Iron
2010
Director
Faces 1973
2010
Director
movieRuhr
2009
Director
movieFire & Rain
2009
Director
movieRR
2007
Director
movieCasting a Glance
2007
Director
movie74.78
2005
Director
movieTen Skies
2004
Director
movie13 Lakes
2004
Director
movieSogobi
2002
Director
movieLos
2001
Director
movieEl Valley Centro
2000
Director
movieUtopia
1998
Director
movieFour Corners
1997
Director
movieDeseret
1995
Director
movieNorth on Evers
1992
Director
movieUsed Innocence
1989
Director
movieTABLE TOP
1988
Director
movieLandscape Suicide
1987
Director
movieO Panama
1985
Director
movieHim and Me
1982
Director
movie11 x 14
1977
Director
movieOne Way Boogie Woogie
1977
Director
movieChicago Loop
1976
Director
movie9-1-75
1975
Director
3 Minutes on the Dangers of Film Recording
1975
Director
movieMichigan Avenue
1974
Director
movie8½ x 11
1974
Director
movieI-94
1974
Director
movieTime and a Half
1972
Director
Two Skies
Director
Acting17
movieBenning's Dream
2021
Self (voice)
movieShe Dies Tomorrow
2020
Leatherman
movieTelemundo
2018
Himself
movieL. Cohen
2018
Himself
movieComing to Terms
2013
The Father
movieStemple Pass
2012
Ted Kaczynski (voice)
movieMaintenance
2012
Himself
movieFour Corners
1997
Narrator
movieUsed Innocence
1989
(voice)
Writing14
movieAdulthood
2026
Writer
movieMaggie's Farm
2020
Writer
movieEasy Rider
2012
Writer
moviePig Iron
2010
Writer
movieRuhr
2009
Writer
movieUsed Innocence
1989
Writer
movie11 x 14
1977
Writer
Camera9
movieMaggie's Farm
2020
Director of Photography
movieEasy Rider
2012
Director of Photography
movieStemple Pass
2012
Director of Photography
moviePig Iron
2010
Director of Photography
movieRuhr
2009
Director of Photography
movieCasting a Glance
2007
Director of Photography
movieLandscape Suicide
1987
Director of Photography
movieO Panama
1985
Director of Photography
movie11 x 14
1977
Director of Photography
Editing9
movieMaggie's Farm
2020
Editor
movieEasy Rider
2012
Editor
movieStemple Pass
2012
Editor
movieRuhr
2009
Editor
movieO Panama
1985
Editor
movie11 x 14
1977
Editor
Production9
movieAllensworth
2022
Producer
movieTelemundo
2018
Producer
movieEasy Rider
2012
Producer
movieStemple Pass
2012
Producer
moviePig Iron
2010
Producer
movieCasting a Glance
2007
Producer
movieTen Skies
2004
Producer
movieLandscape Suicide
1987
Producer
movie11 x 14
1977
Producer
Crew4
Sound2
movieRuhr
2009
Sound Editor
movieO Panama
1985
Sound