Jem Cohen approaches music documentaries without complexes, with the same sensibility and complexity worthy of apparently more important themes. Whereas his video clips highlight the narrative thread and the beauty of the images, his documentaries centre on the personality of the musicians under the spotlight-generally lively, maladjusted and conflictive. He gives each of his works a specific syntax, adapting to the reality of his subjects. Fugazi were represented by a road-movie documentary (Instrument), and for Benjamin Smoke he designed a tapestry of great plasticity with space for detail. New York band The Ex are immortalized in Building a Broken Mousetrap, a filmed concert peppered with images of citizen protests. Lucky Three, finally, is devoted to the introverted indie pop star Elliott Smith.
Lucky Three: an Elliott Smith Portrait, Jem Cohen, 1997, 11', video
Building a Broken Mousetrap, Jem Cohen, 2006, 63', video
