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Jem Cohen

Jem Cohen

Director, editor, cinematographer and producer, also writer · Born January 1, 1962 (64) · Kabul, Afghanistan

Sundance award nominee · Independent Spirit Award winner

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.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 1, 1962 (64)
From
Kabul, Afghanistan
Works as
Director, editor, cinematographer and producer, also writer
Titles
7 on MovieCove · 62 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 156 days to Oct 27Down 39% in 30 days

What are Jem Cohen's films like?

Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Ideas and Society.

Themes

share of theme weight
Ideas
39%
Society
35%
Bonds
11%
Self
6%
Power
4%
Survival
4%
Community3 titles, browse their movies with this themeTruth2 titles, browse their movies with this themeArt2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 5 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 4 · Serious 0 · Dark 1

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 2 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 1

Gentle: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their gentle movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 3 · Charged 2 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 4 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

A split, not a type: Casual 2 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 2

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

A split, not a type: Resolved 1 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 3

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Contemplative
4
Melancholic
3
Warm
2
Joyful
1
Elegiac
1
Other
3

How their films linger

Thought-provoking4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteWistful3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy1
  • Ambiguous4

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Jem Cohen's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 4 of their 7 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on The Criterion Channel (3).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Jem Cohen's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

62 credits, 7 with a MovieCove page.

  • Little, Big, and Far(2024)

    Director · Cinematographer · Editor · Producer · Sound · Writer

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Robert and June (and All the Time in the World) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Director

  • June Leaf (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Director

  • Robert and June (Cape Breton and NYC) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Director

  • Ballad of Philip Guston (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Director

  • Or Nothing (The Double) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Director

  • Makeshift (for Mekas) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Director · Cinematographer · Editor

  • Vox Populi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Director

  • NYC Weights and Measures (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Director

  • This Climate (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Director

  • Birth of a Nation (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Director

  • World Without End (No Reported Incidents) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Director

  • Bury Me Not (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Director

  • On Essex Road (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Director

  • Peter Hutton (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Director

  • Counting(2015)

    Director · Cinematographer · Editor · Producer · Sound Designer

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • We Have an Anchor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Director

  • The Film That Buys the Cinema(2014)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Helianthus Corner Blues (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Director

  • Museum Hours(2012)

    Director · Cinematographer · Editor · Producer · Sound Designer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • 20 Little Films (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Director

  • Gravity Hill Newsreels: Occupy Wall Street (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Director

  • Real Birds (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Director

  • Anne Truitt, Working (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Director

  • Crossing Paths with Luce Vigo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Director

  • Chinatown Film Project (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Director

  • Long for the City (Patti Smith in New York) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Director

  • Le bled (Buildings in a Field) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Director

  • Night Scene New York (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Director

  • The Passage Clock: For Walter Benjamin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Director

  • Evening's Civil Twilight in Empires of Tin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Director · Cinematographer · Editor · Producer

  • Half The Battle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Director

  • A Tale of Two Cities (Viennale Trailer 2007) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Director

  • Spirit (Smells Like Teen Spirit) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Director

  • Blessed are the Dreams of Men (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Director

  • Building a Broken Mousetrap (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Director

  • Chain (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Director · Cinematographer · Editor · Producer · Writer

  • R.E.M.: In View 1988-2003 (The Best of R.E.M.) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Director

  • The Foxx and Little Vic (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Director

  • Nice Evening, Transmission Down (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Director

  • Sonic Cinema: Sparklehorse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Director

  • Benjamin Smoke (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Director

  • Little Flags (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Director

  • Instrument(1999)

    Director · Cinematographer · Editor

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Amber City (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Director

  • Blood Orange Sky (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Director

  • Lucky Three: An Elliott Smith Portrait (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Director · Camera Operator · Editor · Producer

  • Museum (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Director

  • Lost Book Found (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

    Director

  • Buried in Light (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    Director

  • Black Hole Radio (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Director · Editor · Sound Editor

  • R.E.M. - This Film Is On (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    Director

  • Drink Deep (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    Director

  • Sketches for Late City Final (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    Director

  • Just Hold Still (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Director

  • 4:44 (from her house home) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Director · as Narrator

  • Glueman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Director

  • Light Years (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Director

  • Matewan(1987)

    Assistant Property Master

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • This Is a History of New York (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Director

  • At Close Range(1986)

    Assistant Property Master

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Gravity Hill Newsreels-Bella ciao (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

Career shape

A full career of 62 titles, 61 of them dated from 1986 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Museum Hours (2012)

$639K worldwide

Highest rated

Instrument (1999)

Midcredits 97th

Most popular right now

The Film That Buys the Cinema (2014)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 62: 0 only acting, 1 with another roleDirecting60 of 62: 50 only directing, 10 with another role · typical Midcredits score81stWriting3 of 62: 0 only writing, 3 with another roleProducing6 of 62: 0 only producing, 6 with another roleCinematography7 of 62: 0 only cinematography, 7 with another roleEditing9 of 62: 0 only editing, 9 with another roleOther crew7 of 62: 2 only other crew, 5 with another role · typical Midcredits score81st

62 titles, 10 with more than one role — directing and editing overlap on 9 of them.

By decade

1980s7 · 1 acting · 7 crew1990s11 · crew2000s18 · crew2010s19 · crew2020s6 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

1 major award from 5 major nominations, 2001–2014.

WinNomination
  1. 2014
    • Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best Editing
    • Independent Spirit Award, nominated
  2. 2011
    • Sundance award, nominated · US Fiction
  3. 2005
    • Independent Spirit Award, won
  4. 2001
    • Independent Spirit Award, nominated

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Jem Cohen's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 81st percentile, the median of all 7; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 81st percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

81stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Approval · how many liked their films

74thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Reach · how many have seen their films

44thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Midcredits score across 7 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up5
  • 50th to 74th1
  • 25th to 49th1

Shape of the crowd

3 of their 7 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Divisive1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser3

Most divisive · director

The Film That Buys the Cinema (2014)

96th percentile spread · 38% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, cinematographer, editor

Instrument (1999)

Midcredits 97th · 86% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 75/100 and the pacing 47/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Jem Cohen work with?

People who share at least 2 of Jem Cohen's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Paolo Calamita shares the most, 3.

Producers

Mixed roles