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Untitled Fragments

Forum Expanded 2017
© James Benning
The 3-channel video installation Untitled Fragments brings together four histories: the 1860s scorched earth policy of Kit Carson used to drive out the Navajos from their homeland in Canyon de Chelly, the 1967 execution of Che Guevara in Bolivia, the 1972 carpet bombing of Hanoi, and the 2016 Cedar Fire in the California Sierras. The radio transmission is from a US Air Force B-52 (Stratofortress Bomber, code name Lilac 02) recorded on the evening of December 26, 1972 during which 116 B-52s attacked Hanoi and Haiphong dropping all of their bombs within 15 minutes. The recording was declassified in 2016.
The installation is part of a larger project that further includes paintings, drawing, serigraphs, tapestries, film loops, and historical objects.
by James Benning (Director) USA 2017 English 75' Colour

Crew

Director James Benning

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James Benning

© Sharon-Lockhart

Born in 1942 in Milwaukee, USA, James Benning completed a degree in film studies in the 1970s and has been making films and creating numerous installations since 1972. Benning has been a frequent guest at the Forum and Forum Expanded since 1977, most recently with Allensworth in 2022.

Filmography (selection)

1977 11 x 14; 83 min., Berlinale Forum 1977 & 2018 1983 American Dreams (lost and found); 56 min. 1986 Landscape Suicide; 95 min., Berlinale Forum 1987 1997 Four Corners; 80 min., Berlinale Forum 1998 2000 Los; 90 min., Berlinale Forum 2002 2002 Sogobi; 90 min., Berlinale Forum 2002 2004 13 Lakes; 133 min., Berlinale Forum 2005 · Ten Skies; 101 min., Berlinale Forum 2005 2005 One Way Boogie Woogie/27 Years Later; 120 min., Berlinale Forum 2006 2007 RR; 110 min., Berlinale Forum 2008 2009 Ruhr; 121 min. 2010 John Krieg Exiting the Falk Corporation in 1971; 71 min. 2011 Faces; 135 min. · Milwaukee/Duisburg; installation, Berlinale Forum Expanded 2011 · Twenty Cigarettes; 99 min., Berlinale Forum 2011 · Small Roads; 103 min. 2012 Nightfall; 98 min. · Stemple Pass; 121 min., Berlinale Forum 2013 · Easy Rider; 95 min. · One Way Boogie Woogie 2012; 90 min. · BNSF; 194 min. 2014 Natural History; 77 min. · Farocki; 77 min. · Concord Woods; 121 min. 2015 American Dreams; 85 min. 2017 Untitled Fragments; 75 min., video installation, Berlinale Forum Expanded 2017 2018 L. Cohen; 45 min., video installation, Berlinale Forum Expanded 2018 2019 Maggie’s Farm; 84 min., Berlinale Forum 2022 United States of America; 98 min., Berlinale Forum · Allensworth; 65 min. 2025 little boy

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2025