Benjamin Crotty
B. 1979, Spokane, Washington, USA
Lives and works in Paris
Biography
Download as PDFBorn in Spokane, Washington, Paris-based filmmaker Benjamin Crotty studied figurative painting at Yale University followed by film at Le Fresnoy – Studio National in northern France. He left school with an esthetic penchant for the banality of American domestic standards (the family included), bucolic landscapes, military iconography, the conventions of episodic TV and the idle sense of time inspired by the viewing of soap operas.
Since leaving the Fresnoy, his work has been focused on 16mm narrative film, including Visionary Iraq (2009), a queer family melodrama about the Iraq War, made together with Portuguese-American filmmaker Gabriel Abrantes, where the filmmakers play father and mother, as well as son and adopted daughter in love, and Liberdade (2011), a love story set in Angola. Fort Buchanan (2014), the filmmaker’s first feature film, again looks at war through the lens of domestic melodrama, focusing on sexual frustration and down time spent on a woodland military base.
His 2016 exhibition at VI, VII, “Division Movement to Vungtau” made in collaboration with French artist Bertrand Dezoteux, derives from a similar obsession with the prosaic side of militarized life, using material sourced from the US National archives to offer a “reverse shot” of US army abuses and excesses. Walking a line between home movie, experimental film and propagandistic documentary, Division Movement to Vungtau diverts the viewer from the idea of war as an uninterrupted continuum of violence, aligning itself more closely with psychedelic cultural production for children of the Mary Poppins (Robert Stevenson, 1964) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (Stevenson, 1971) variety.
The artist’s work in film and video has been shown in numerous international film festivals such as Rotterdam and Locarno; on regional television in the United States, national television in France, and in institutions such as the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Centre d’Art Contemporain de Genève, the Palais de Tokyo, Palazzo Grassi and Tate Modern.
Crotty’s first feature film, Fort Buchanan, was debuted at the 2014 Locarno Film Festival and had its US premiere at the MoMA / Film Society of Lincoln Center’s New Directors/New Films Festival in March 2015. His work was included in a retrospective Friends with Benefits: An Anthology of Four New American Filmmakers at the Film Society at Lincoln Center, New York in February 2016.
Curriculum Vitae
Download as PDFEducation
2006-2008
- Le Fresnoy – Studio National des Arts Contemporains, Lille, France
- Post-graduate studies in film & video
2005-2006
- Master 1, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
- Fine Art
2004-2005
- Université Charles de Gaulle Lille 3, Bachelor of Arts
- Art History and Archaeology
1998-2002
- Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. Bachelor of Arts
- Fine Art, with honors
- The Glorious Acceptance of Nicolas Chauvin
- Short film, 2018, 16mm, 26 minutes
- Festivals
- Locarno Film Festival (Recipient of Fundación Casa Wabi – Mantarraya Award)
- New York Film Festival
- BFI London Film Festival
- Berwick Film & Media Festival
- Festival Internacional de Cine de Gijón
- Viennale, La Roche-sur-Yon International Film Festival
- Volksbühne Berlin (Special Presentation)
- Division Movement to Vungtau
- Video, 2016, 16mm, 4 minutes, collaboration with Bertrand Dezoteux
- Festivals
- Toronto International Film Festival (Wavelengths)
- New York Film Festival (Projections)
- Côté Court, Sicilia International Queer Film Fest (special jury mention)
- Exhibition
- Benjamin Crotty, VI, VII, Oslo
- Collapse
- Documentary, 2016, HD, 58 minutes
- Festivals
- Toronto International Film Festival (Wavelengths)
- New York Film Festival (Projections)
- Côté Court, Sicilia International Queer Film Fest (special jury mention)
- Television
- Vice Media France/France 4. Broadcast by channel France 4 in June 2016
- Fort Buchanan
- Feature film, 2014, 16mm, 65 minutes
- Theatrical release: June 2015, Norte Distribution
- Festivals
- Locarno Film Festival
- New Directors/New Films, MoMA / Film Society of
- Lincoln Center, New York
- Rotterdam International Film Festival
- Seville European Film Festival
- La Roche sur Yon International Film Festival – Prix Nouvelles Vagues
- Molodist International Film Festival – Prize
- Athens Avant Garde Film Festival
- Angers Premiers Plans
- IndieLisboa, Sicilia International
- Queer Film Fest
- Riviera Maya Film Festival
- Taipei Film Festival
- Outfest Los Angeles
- Melbourne International Film Festival
- Berlin Xposed
- Zagreb Subversive Film Festival
- Exhibition
- Moving Image Biennale, Centre d’art contemporain de Geneva, Tate Modern, Palazzo Grassi
- Liberdade
- Short film, 2011, 16mm, 16 minutes, collaboration with Gabriel Abrantes
- Theatrical release in June 2014 as part of the feature film Pan Pleure Pas, Capricci Distribution.
- Festivals
- Indie Lisboa – prix de réalisation (short film)
- Locarno Film Festival – prix pour film et vidéo sous-titrage
- Oslo International Film Festival, Viennale
- Exhibitions
- RESET, Fondation d’entreprise Ricard
- Dynasty, Musée d’art moderne, Paris
- MIT List Center
- VI, VII, Oslo
- ICA London
- Visionary Iraq (Short film, 2009, 16mm, 17 minutes, collaboration Gabriel Abrantes)
- Festivals
- Indie Lisboa – New Talent Prize
- Rotterdam International Film Festival
- Festival Entreveus de Belfort
- Exhibitions
- Dynasty, Palais de Tokyo
- Visionary Iraq, 111 Gallery, Porto
Screenings
Press
2018
- Witkin, Daniel. “Alice T., Too Late to Die Young and Four More From Locarno 2018.” Filmmaker Magazine, 15 August 2018. Web.
- Chessel, Luc. “La France à Troubles Tours.” Libération, 9 August 2018. Print.
- Kasman, Daniel. “Locarno 2018. Looking for Laughs After HUAC.” Mubi Notebook, 6 August 2018. Web.
2017
- Coldiron, Phil. “The Festival Beneath the Festival.” The Brooklyn Rail, 5 October 2017. Web.
- Pinkerton, Nick. “Small Wonder.” Artforum, 21 September 2017. Web.
- Horvei, Maria. “Benjamin Crotty.” Artforum, January 2017.
2016
- Anderson, Melissa. “Ten Best – Film 2016.” Artforum, December 2016.
- Lysne, Anders. “Skeive Militaerrom.” Wuxia Film Kultur 3 – 4 2016: 26-37.
- Biennale de l’image on Movement. Catalogue, Mousse Publishing, Milan, October 2016: 78 – 85.
- Crotty, Benjamin. “Portfolio.” Frieze . 16 May 2016. Web.
- Anderson, Melissa. “Army Camp.” Artforum February 2016.
- Kenigsberg, Ben. “Fort Buchanan, Making Love and War.” New York Times 4 February 2016.
2015
- Kidner, Dan. “The Long and Short.” Frieze September 2015.
- Péron, Didier. “Fort Buchanan, le siège des sentiments.” Liberation 2 June 2015: 30.
- Blondeau, Romain. “Fort Buchanan de Benjamin Crotty.” Les Inrockuptibles 3 June 2015: 70.
- Elliot, Nicholas. “Ma come parla?” Cahiers du Cinema May 2015: 48.
- Elliot, Nicholas. “De Walden à Ikea: Entretien avec Benjamin Crotty.” Cahiers du Cinema May 2015: 49.
- Cataldo, Jesse. “Fort Buchanan.” Slant Magazine 15 March 2015. Web.
- Dallas, Paul. “ND/NF Interview: Benjamin Crotty.” Film Comment 24 March 2015. Web.
- Salovaara, Sarah. “An Auteur Film with Pseudo-Anonymous Dialogue.” Filmmaker Magazine 24 March 2015. Web.
- Kidner, Dan. “International Film Festival Rotterdam.” Frieze Blog 10 February 2015. Web.
2014
- Elliot, Nicholas. “Pedro Costa envoûte Locarno.” Cahiers du Cinema September 2014: 48-50.
- Lattimer, James. “Locarno Film Festival 2014.” Slant Magazine 13 August 2014. Web.
2010
- Kihm, Christophe, Alexandre Melo, et João Ribas. Abrantes, Gabriel ed. and i am so thankful for all of the friendships i have made. Guimaraes, Portugal: Centro Cultural Vila Flor, 2010.
- Weber, Mark. “Best of 2010: Film.” Artforum December 2010: 48.
- Rehberg, Vivian. “Dynasty.” Frieze November/December 2010.
- Kihm, Christophe. “Gabriel Abrantes et Benjamin Crotty: Un postmodernisme positif.” Art Press July 2010: 45-47.
- “Gabriel Abrantes et Benjamin Crotty” Palais/Magazine été 2010: 16-21.
- During, Elie. “Reset.” Art Press April 2010: 90.
2008
- Kihm, Christophe. “Visionary Iraq.” Art Press December 2008: 81-82.
Benjamin Crotty, Menu No. 6, 2016
Acetate and glass
30.5 × 23.5 × 0.3 cm (12 × 9 ¼ × ⅛ inches)
Acetate and glass
30.5 × 23.5 × 0.3 cm (12 × 9 ¼ × ⅛ inches)
Benjamin Crotty, Menu No. 9, 2016
Plexiglass and transparency film
29.7 × 21 × 1 cm (11 ¾ × 8 ¼ × ⅜ inches)
Plexiglass and transparency film
29.7 × 21 × 1 cm (11 ¾ × 8 ¼ × ⅜ inches)
Benjamin Crotty, Menu No. 3, 2016
Acetate and glass
30.5 × 23.5 × 0.3 cm (12 × 9 ¼ × ⅛ inches)
Acetate and glass
30.5 × 23.5 × 0.3 cm (12 × 9 ¼ × ⅛ inches)
Benjamin Crotty, Menu No. 2, 2016
Acetate and glass
30.5 × 23.5 × 0.3 cm (12 × 9 ¼ × ⅛ inches)
Acetate and glass
30.5 × 23.5 × 0.3 cm (12 × 9 ¼ × ⅛ inches)
Benjamin Crotty, Menu No. 7, 2016
Plexiglass and transparency film
29.7 × 21 × 1 cm (11 ¾ × 8 ¼ × ⅜ inches)
Plexiglass and transparency film
29.7 × 21 × 1 cm (11 ¾ × 8 ¼ × ⅜ inches)
Gabriel Abrantes and Benjamin Crotty, Visionary Iraq, 2009
S-16MM Film
S-16MM Film
Benjamin Crotty, Fort Buchanan, 2014
16mm to DCP
16mm to DCP
Benjamin Crotty, Fort Buchanan, 2014
16mm to DCP
16mm to DCP
Benjamin Crotty, Fort Buchanan, 2014
16mm to DCP
16mm to DCP
Benjamin Crotty, Le Discours d’acceptation glorieux de Nicolas Chauvin, 2018
16mm to DCP
16mm to DCP
Benjamin Crotty, Le Discours d’acceptation glorieux de Nicolas Chauvin, 2018
16mm to DCP
16mm to DCP
Benjamin Crotty and Bertrand Dezoteux, Division Movement to Vungtau, 2016
16mm transferred to video
16mm transferred to video
Benjamin Crotty and Bertrand Dezoteux, Division Movement to Vungtau, 2016
16mm transferred to video
16mm transferred to video
Benjamin Crotty and Bertrand Dezoteux, Division Movement to Vungtau, 2016
16mm transferred to video
16mm transferred to video
Benjamin Crotty and Bertrand Dezoteux, Division Movement to Vungtau, 2016
16mm transferred to video
16mm transferred to video
Gabriel Abrantes and Benjamin Crotty, Liberdade, 2011
16MM Film
16MM Film
Benjamin Crotty, Menu No. 6, 2016
Acetate and glass
30.5 × 23.5 × 0.3 cm (12 × 9 ¼ × ⅛ inches)
Acetate and glass
30.5 × 23.5 × 0.3 cm (12 × 9 ¼ × ⅛ inches)
Benjamin Crotty, Menu No. 9, 2016
Plexiglass and transparency film
29.7 × 21 × 1 cm (11 ¾ × 8 ¼ × ⅜ inches)
Plexiglass and transparency film
29.7 × 21 × 1 cm (11 ¾ × 8 ¼ × ⅜ inches)
Benjamin Crotty, Menu No. 3, 2016
Acetate and glass
30.5 × 23.5 × 0.3 cm (12 × 9 ¼ × ⅛ inches)
Acetate and glass
30.5 × 23.5 × 0.3 cm (12 × 9 ¼ × ⅛ inches)
Benjamin Crotty, Menu No. 2, 2016
Acetate and glass
30.5 × 23.5 × 0.3 cm (12 × 9 ¼ × ⅛ inches)
Acetate and glass
30.5 × 23.5 × 0.3 cm (12 × 9 ¼ × ⅛ inches)
Benjamin Crotty, Menu No. 7, 2016
Plexiglass and transparency film
29.7 × 21 × 1 cm (11 ¾ × 8 ¼ × ⅜ inches)
Plexiglass and transparency film
29.7 × 21 × 1 cm (11 ¾ × 8 ¼ × ⅜ inches)
Gabriel Abrantes and Benjamin Crotty, Visionary Iraq, 2009
S-16MM Film
S-16MM Film
Benjamin Crotty, Fort Buchanan, 2014
16mm to DCP
16mm to DCP
Benjamin Crotty, Fort Buchanan, 2014
16mm to DCP
16mm to DCP
Benjamin Crotty, Fort Buchanan, 2014
16mm to DCP
16mm to DCP
Benjamin Crotty, Le Discours d’acceptation glorieux de Nicolas Chauvin, 2018
16mm to DCP
16mm to DCP
Benjamin Crotty, Le Discours d’acceptation glorieux de Nicolas Chauvin, 2018
16mm to DCP
16mm to DCP
Benjamin Crotty and Bertrand Dezoteux, Division Movement to Vungtau, 2016
16mm transferred to video
16mm transferred to video
Benjamin Crotty and Bertrand Dezoteux, Division Movement to Vungtau, 2016
16mm transferred to video
16mm transferred to video
Benjamin Crotty and Bertrand Dezoteux, Division Movement to Vungtau, 2016
16mm transferred to video
16mm transferred to video
Benjamin Crotty and Bertrand Dezoteux, Division Movement to Vungtau, 2016
16mm transferred to video
16mm transferred to video
Gabriel Abrantes and Benjamin Crotty, Liberdade, 2011
16MM Film
16MM Film