ALLENSWORTH

Forum 2023

Without the title, it would be hard to place the first shots, aside from their position in the year. We start in January and end in December, with around five minutes dedicated to each month. A lonely tree before a winter sky, modern wooden houses and a plain brick hotel from the early 20th century, passing trains heard before seen: this could be any small American town, which it is and it isn’t; there’s enough time and space for contemplation of both. Founded in 1908, Allensworth was the first municipality in California to be governed by African-Americans. As we pass through the year and around the settlement, elements of this specific heritage also begin to accumulate: “Blackbird” by Nina Simone, “In the Pines” sung by Huddie Ledbetter, Lucille Clifton poems read out by a little girl direct to camera. But these are just echoes in a place that is now a museum, a space for reflection that the film maps out, fragments and amplifies as only cinema can, a place to think about what was, like the graveyard shown in the final shot. But remembering the past is also remembering that not all pasts are equal, and that’s where duration comes into play. Time still needs to be taken.

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by James Benning (Director) USA 2022 English 65' Colour International premiere | Documentary Form

Crew

Director	James Benning
Producer	James Benning

Photos

James Benning

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