Ben Barenholtz

Biography

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.