Ben Barenholtz

Production

Ben Barenholtz

Born 1935-10-05 · Kupiczów, Poland [now Kupychiv, Ukraine]

Ben Barenholtz (October 5, 1935 – June 27, 2019) was a Polish-born American film producer, exhibitor, and distributor with a significant presence in the independent film scene since the late 1960s. In 1968 Barenholtz opened The Elgin Cinema in New York City which was known for its experimental midnight screenings of new filmmakers. Barenholtz was known for his eye in discovering new directors such as The Coen Brothers, David Lynch, John Sayles and Guy Maddin, and was the first to bring Cousin Cousine, and John Woo's The Killer to the American screens. He is often credited with launching and being a close collaborator of the Coen Brothers. He developed and produced a number of cult movies including Barton Fink, Miller's Crossing and Requiem for a Dream. Barenholtz appeared in the documentary The Hicks of Hollywood, had a bit role in Liquid Sky, and appeared as a zombie in Romero's classic Dawn of the Dead. He was the subject in Stuart Samuels' 2005 documentary Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream. In 2005 Barenholtz directed his first feature, Music Inn, a documentary about the famed jazz venue and was the producer of Jamie Greenberg's feature film Stags. In 2012, he produced Suzuya Bobo's first feature, Family Games. In 2012 he directed and produced Wakaliwood: The Documentary, shot in the slums of Kampala, Uganda. In 2016, he received the Berlinale Camera award from the Berlinale Film Festival to honor his contributions to the independent film scene. Barenholtz directed his first and only fiction film, Alina, starring Darya Ekamasova, which was released in the fall of 2017. At the time of his death he was developing the sequel to Alina as well as working on an autobiographical film, Aaron. He died on June 27, 2019, in Prague, Czech Republic, at the age of 83. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ben Barenholtz, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Acting credits

Behind the camera

Bruiser poster
5.6

After years of being browbeaten and walked on, a man wakes one day wearing an expressionless mask, fitted with a personality that enables him to take revenge.

Bruiser

2000

Martin poster
6.8

A young man, convinced he's a vampire, goes to live with his elderly and hostile cousin in a small Pennsylvanian town, where he tries to suppress his bloodlust.

Martin

1978

Alina poster
NR

Alina is an independent, ultra low-budget film showing the odyssey of a young Russian woman, Alina, who arrives in the city to find her father with only a 25-year-old photo in her possession.

Alina

2017

Alina poster
NR

Alina is an independent, ultra low-budget film showing the odyssey of a young Russian woman, Alina, who arrives in the city to find her father with only a 25-year-old photo in her possession.

Alina

2017

The Naked Man poster
4.1

A man takes matters into his own hands when a pharmaceutical kingpin moves into his town to cause some real trouble.

The Naked Man

1998

Stags poster
NR

Jack and his pals are NYC bachelors in their super-late 30s who have spent two decades chasing women and fleeing commitment. When a childhood friend’s sudden tragic marriage shakes up their world of sex and booze, Jack realizes he just may be ready to commit to the one woman hopelessly out of reach.

Stags

2011

Family Games poster
4.7

Sloane and her boyfriend Barrett return to her childhood home determined to ruin her father Roan's re-marriage. Family secrets surface and give rise to a puzzling future.

Family Games

2017

Music Inn poster
10.0

During a decade rife with paranoia, in the middle of the McCarthy era, Music Inn was a bold experiment. Halfway between the Second World War and The Civil Rights Movement, Phil and Stephanie Barber created an oasis in the Berkshire Hills in Western Massachusetts where aspiring musicians came to learn from the very best. Students and faculty, young and old, rich and poor, white, black, and brown convened together and learned from each other. Defying the surrounding environment, Music Inn harbored a racial and cultural harmony where music was all that mattered.

Music Inn

2007

Music Inn poster
10.0

During a decade rife with paranoia, in the middle of the McCarthy era, Music Inn was a bold experiment. Halfway between the Second World War and The Civil Rights Movement, Phil and Stephanie Barber created an oasis in the Berkshire Hills in Western Massachusetts where aspiring musicians came to learn from the very best. Students and faculty, young and old, rich and poor, white, black, and brown convened together and learned from each other. Defying the surrounding environment, Music Inn harbored a racial and cultural harmony where music was all that mattered.

Music Inn

2007

Wakaliwood: The Documentary poster
NR

A loving husband and father, Isaac is an unlikely multi-hyphenate action filmmaker working from his home in the slums of Wakaliga, Uganda. This funny, touching and inspiring story celebrates the art of filmmaking and the pure joy of creativity.

Wakaliwood: The Documentary

2012