Director of
EIGHT BRIDGES
James Benning (b. 1942, Milwaukee, US) has created an expansive body of work encompassing film, painting, photography and installations. Rising to prominence in the late 1970s for his work in film, Benning developed a distinct visual language associated with extended real- time, single-shot frames and the use of landscape, which he continues to deploy to this day. Exploring ecology, technology and the marginalization of peoples, Benning often returns to grand narratives and their hidden undersides, inviting close examination of the lesser- observed and inviting reflection on the broader cultural consciousness. Since the late 1980s, he has lived in Val Verde, California. He teaches at the California Institute of the Arts.
Films (selection): LANDSCAPE SUICIDE (1986), UTOPIA (1998), EL VALLEY CENTRO (1999), 13 LAKES (2004), TEN SKYS (2004), CASTING A GLANCE (2007), RR (2007), FIRE & RAIN (2009, VIENNALE TRAILER 09), AMERICAN DREAMS (2015), ONE WAY BOOGIE WOOGIE (2012), THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (2022), ALLENSWORTH (2022), BREATHLESS (2023), LITTLE BOY (2025), EIGHT BRIDGES (2026)