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Ken Jacobs

Ken Jacobs

Directing·1933–2025·256 films

A pioneer of the American film avant-garde of the 1960s and '70s, Ken Jacobs is a central figure in post-war experimental cinema. From his first films of the late 1950s to his recent experiments with digital video, his investigations and innovations have influenced countless artists.…

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As Director

Blonde Cobra
Blonde Cobra (1963)
Little Stabs at Happiness
Little Stabs at Happiness (1963)
Capitalism: Slavery
Capitalism: Slavery (2007)
Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son
Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son (1969)
Star Spangled to Death
Star Spangled to Death (2004)
60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero
60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero (2011)
Celestial Subway Lines/Salvaging Noise
Celestial Subway Lines/Salvaging Noise (2005)
The Georgetown Loop
The Georgetown Loop (1996)
Seeking the Monkey King
Seeking the Monkey King (2011)
Window
Window (1964)
Flo Rounds a Corner
Flo Rounds a Corner (1999)
Razzle Dazzle: The Lost World
Razzle Dazzle: The Lost World (2007)
Canopy
Canopy (2014)
Orchard Street
Orchard Street (1955)
Jonas Mekas in Kodachrome Days
Jonas Mekas in Kodachrome Days (2009)
Two Wrenching Departures
Two Wrenching Departures (2006)
New York Ghetto Fishmarket 1903
New York Ghetto Fishmarket 1903 (2007)
Capitalism: Child Labor
Capitalism: Child Labor (2007)
Rain Clouds
Rain Clouds (2020)
Globe
Globe (1969)
For Life, Against the War
For Life, Against the War (1967)
The Death of P'town
The Death of P'town (1961)
Perfect Film
Perfect Film (1985)
Anaglyph Tom (Tom with Puffy Cheeks)
Anaglyph Tom (Tom with Puffy Cheeks) (2008)
Circling Zero: Part One, We See Absence
Circling Zero: Part One, We See Absence (2002)
Chronometer
Chronometer (1990)
Turbulent Waters
Turbulent Waters (2011)
Keaton's Cops
Keaton's Cops (1991)
Opening the Nineteenth Century: 1896
Opening the Nineteenth Century: 1896 (1991)
20 Little Films
20 Little Films (2012)
THE WHOLE SHEBANG
THE WHOLE SHEBANG (2019)
Keeping an Eye on Stan
Keeping an Eye on Stan (2003)
Up the Illusion
Up the Illusion (2023)
The Near-Collision
The Near-Collision (2010)
Nissan Ariana Window
Nissan Ariana Window (1969)
The Sky Socialist
The Sky Socialist (1966)
Cyclopean 3D: Life with a Beautiful Woman
Cyclopean 3D: Life with a Beautiful Woman (2011)
Saturday Afternoon Blood Sacrifice
Saturday Afternoon Blood Sacrifice (1956)
Lisa and Joey in Connecticut
Lisa and Joey in Connecticut (1965)
Duck
Duck (2020)
Gift of Fire: Nineteen (Obscure) Frames That Changed The World
Gift of Fire: Nineteen (Obscure) Frames That Changed The World (2007)
The Scenic Route
The Scenic Route (2008)
Hanky Panky January 1902
Hanky Panky January 1902 (2007)
Bison
Bison (2020)
From Introduction to Orson Welles’s Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight
From Introduction to Orson Welles’s Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight (2023)
Cartoonish 1-10
Cartoonish 1-10 (2021)
Shelley Duvall is Olive Oyl
Shelley Duvall is Olive Oyl (2017)
Disorient Express
Disorient Express (1996)
The Day Was a Scorcher
The Day Was a Scorcher (2009)
The Whirled
The Whirled (2003)
Spaghetti Aza
Spaghetti Aza (1976)
Whims of Twenty Twenty-Three
Whims of Twenty Twenty-Three (2023)
Roots of Manhattan
Roots of Manhattan (2020)
Garage Wall
Garage Wall (2020)
Adventures of Cookie Truck
Adventures of Cookie Truck (2021)
The Moments: Evening Boat Ride
The Moments: Evening Boat Ride (2018)
Little Cobra Dance
Little Cobra Dance (1956)
MOVING ROAD
MOVING ROAD (2019)
PAINTED POSTER
PAINTED POSTER (2020)
Ontic Antics Starring Laurel and Hardy: Bye Molly
Ontic Antics Starring Laurel and Hardy: Bye Molly (2005)
Things to Come
Things to Come (2019)
Tourists of the Familiar 1
Tourists of the Familiar 1 (2023)
Chinese New Years II
Chinese New Years II (2020)
Brook
Brook (2009)
Bitemporal Vision: The Sea
Bitemporal Vision: The Sea (1994)
Brick Building with Red and Green Windows
Brick Building with Red and Green Windows (2020)
Chinese New Years
Chinese New Years (2020)
Urban Peasants
Urban Peasants (1975)
1st Window
1st Window (1964)
Friendly Building
Friendly Building (2020)
Book of Splendors, Part Two, Book of Levers: Action at a Distance
Book of Splendors, Part Two, Book of Levers: Action at a Distance (1977)
Another Day in Days of Yore
Another Day in Days of Yore (2020)
Double Wow
Double Wow (2021)
Airshaft
Airshaft (1967)
Water Balloon
Water Balloon (2020)
The Pushcarts Leave Eternity Street
The Pushcarts Leave Eternity Street (2011)
Eternal Beach
Eternal Beach (2021)
Nervous Magic Lantern: 3D for One or Two Naked Eyes
Nervous Magic Lantern: 3D for One or Two Naked Eyes (2019)
Jerry Takes A Back Seat, Then Passes Out Of The Picture
Jerry Takes A Back Seat, Then Passes Out Of The Picture (1975)
DR. TOOTHY
DR. TOOTHY (2020)
City Foliage
City Foliage (2020)
Hubble II
Hubble II (2020)
Transparent Apartments
Transparent Apartments (2020)
Nervous Lantern at Kill Your Timid Notion Festival
Nervous Lantern at Kill Your Timid Notion Festival (2007)
Whirlpool
Whirlpool (2020)
Blankets for Indians
Blankets for Indians (2012)
CRUSH
CRUSH (2019)
Empty Seats
Empty Seats (2015)
Swee’pea’s Favorite Eternalisms
Swee’pea’s Favorite Eternalisms (2017)
Working Girls (short)
Working Girls (short) (2020)
The Doctor's Dream
The Doctor's Dream (1977)
Another Occupation
Another Occupation (2011)
"Slow is Beauty"-Rodin
"Slow is Beauty"-Rodin (2009)
Joan Mitchell: Departures
Joan Mitchell: Departures (2019)
Le Prince: Leeds Bridge 1888
Le Prince: Leeds Bridge 1888 (2005)
Fire Escape
Fire Escape (2020)
Flowers and Bike
Flowers and Bike (2020)
Depth for One Eye or Two
Depth for One Eye or Two
The Green Wave
The Green Wave (2011)
Facade with Face
Facade with Face (2020)
Period Piece
Period Piece (2020)
Sebastian and Jonas Leaving the Party
Sebastian and Jonas Leaving the Party (2019)
RECIPROCAL
RECIPROCAL (2020)
Street Commerce II
Street Commerce II (2020)
Book of Eternalisms 39
Book of Eternalisms 39 (2025)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2023)
Reichstag 9/11
Reichstag 9/11 (2016)
Mosco Street 3: Attack of The Perfect Camera (Fuji W3)
Mosco Street 3: Attack of The Perfect Camera (Fuji W3) (2016)
Binghamton, My India
Binghamton, My India (1970)
Reading Society
Reading Society (2020)
Ken Jacobs / Rick Reed & Tara Bhattacharya @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival
Ken Jacobs / Rick Reed & Tara Bhattacharya @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival (2016)
Soft Rain
Soft Rain (1968)
Foliage in Moving Car Window
Foliage in Moving Car Window (2020)
Sleeping American
Sleeping American (2020)
Storefront
Storefront (2020)
Abstract Eternalism
Abstract Eternalism (2021)
Krypton Is Doomed
Krypton Is Doomed (2005)
One Dozen Roses
One Dozen Roses (2022)
Amorous Interludes: His Favorite Wife Improved (or The Virtue Of Bad Reception)
Amorous Interludes: His Favorite Wife Improved (or The Virtue Of Bad Reception) (2008)
Nymph
Nymph (2007)
TV Plug
TV Plug (1963)
DeKooning Passed
DeKooning Passed (2020)
Waiting Room Window
Waiting Room Window (2020)
Lazy City
Lazy City (2020)
Figures I - V
Figures I - V (2019)
Resting Merchant
Resting Merchant (2020)
Neon Sign
Neon Sign (2020)
Halley’s Comet
Halley’s Comet (2020)
Clouds and Trees
Clouds and Trees (2020)
Ken Jacobs / diNMachine @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival
Ken Jacobs / diNMachine @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival (2016)
Ken Jacobs / JG Thirlwell @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival
Ken Jacobs / JG Thirlwell @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival (2016)
Details of Pollock's White Light
Details of Pollock's White Light (2019)
Hydroelectric Dam
Hydroelectric Dam (2016)
Chaos Is Order Misunderstood
Chaos Is Order Misunderstood (2019)
America Lets Her Hair Down 1905
America Lets Her Hair Down 1905 (2022)
Chrysalis
Chrysalis (2015)
The Lackadaisical Speed of Light
The Lackadaisical Speed of Light (2015)
Tourists of the Familiar 15
Tourists of the Familiar 15 (2023)
DAY AND NIGHT
DAY AND NIGHT (2011)
A Loft
A Loft (2010)
Ulysses in the Subway
Ulysses in the Subway (2017)
What Happened on 23rd Street in 1901
What Happened on 23rd Street in 1901 (2009)
Barber
Barber (2020)
Joys of Waiting for the Broadway Bus #2
Joys of Waiting for the Broadway Bus #2 (2013)
Bob Fleischner Dying
Bob Fleischner Dying (2009)
Failure
Failure (2019)
Bargains
Bargains (2020)
A Small Misunderstanding
A Small Misunderstanding (2021)
A Tom Tom Chaser
A Tom Tom Chaser (2002)
Let There Be Whistle Blowers
Let There Be Whistle Blowers (2005)
Book of Eternalisms 1-6
Book of Eternalisms 1-6 (2023)
Spiral Nebula
Spiral Nebula (2005)
The Signing
The Signing (2009)
Looting For Rodney
Looting For Rodney (1995)
Pushcarts of Eternity Street
Pushcarts of Eternity Street (2006)
We Are Charming
We Are Charming (2007)
The Sky Socialist: Flight
The Sky Socialist: Flight (2002)
Mosco Street 2
Mosco Street 2 (2016)
The Sky Socialist: The Environs
The Sky Socialist: The Environs (2019)
Brain Operations
Brain Operations (2009)
Walkway
Walkway (2009)
Red Green
Red Green (2020)
Broadway Buildings II
Broadway Buildings II (2020)
Ken Jacobs / Victoria Keddie @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival
Ken Jacobs / Victoria Keddie @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival (2016)
Tree Stump
Tree Stump (2018)
OCCUPY WALL STREET, THE 99% JOIN IN
OCCUPY WALL STREET, THE 99% JOIN IN (2011)
Spotted Fever
Spotted Fever
Return to the Scene of the Crime
Return to the Scene of the Crime (2008)
Afternoon Tide
Afternoon Tide (2015)
Above the Rain
Above the Rain (2019)
Artie and Marty Rosenblatt’s Baby Pictures
Artie and Marty Rosenblatt’s Baby Pictures (1964)
Doyer Street
Doyer Street (2020)
Downtown Loft with Skylights
Downtown Loft with Skylights (2026)
Buster Keaton Embossed
Buster Keaton Embossed (2022)
Hoffman Student
Hoffman Student (2021)
Dimsum and Dragons
Dimsum and Dragons (2019)
Tourists of the Familiar 5
Tourists of the Familiar 5 (2023)
Tourists of the Familiar 10
Tourists of the Familiar 10 (2023)
Tourists of the Familiar 20
Tourists of the Familiar 20 (2023)
XCXHXEXRXRXIXEXSX
XCXHXEXRXRXIXEXSX (2021)
Baud'larian Capers
Baud'larian Capers (1962)
Other Urban Lives
Other Urban Lives (2023)
A Spin Through Night City
A Spin Through Night City (2017)
Real Action Figures
Real Action Figures (2022)
Aspiring To Music
Aspiring To Music (2021)
Street Vendor
Street Vendor (2012)
Writhing City
Writhing City (2023)
When Timofeev Moves Everything Moves
When Timofeev Moves Everything Moves (2022)
Once Upon a Planet
Once Upon a Planet (2019)
Ken and Flo
Ken and Flo (2020)
Natural Collage
Natural Collage (2020)
Broadway Buildings III
Broadway Buildings III (2020)
Broadway Building
Broadway Building (2020)
Street Commerce
Street Commerce (2020)
Spaceworks
Spaceworks (2020)
PAPPY SEES 3D, TOO
PAPPY SEES 3D, TOO (2019)
Movie That Invites Pausing
Movie That Invites Pausing (2020)
Granular
Granular (2015)
BOOK OF ETERNALISMS 41
BOOK OF ETERNALISMS 41 (2026)
Central Park
Central Park (2016)
Cartoon
Cartoon (2019)
Spasm
Spasm (2023)
Sergei Eisenstein Embossed
Sergei Eisenstein Embossed (2022)
New York Street Trolleys 1900
New York Street Trolleys 1900 (1999)
The Roses
The Roses (2011)
Joys of Waiting for the Broadway Bus #1
Joys of Waiting for the Broadway Bus #1 (2013)
Rubble
Rubble (2020)
Insistent Clamor
Insistent Clamor (2005)
Excerpt From THE SKY SOCIALIST Stratified
Excerpt From THE SKY SOCIALIST Stratified (2009)
Gravity Is Tops
Gravity Is Tops (2009)
Spiky
Spiky (2020)
Ken Jacobs / Ghosts Of The Holy Ghost Spermic Brotherhood @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival
Ken Jacobs / Ghosts Of The Holy Ghost Spermic Brotherhood @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival (2016)
Ken Jacobs / Tom Chiu of Flux Quartet @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival
Ken Jacobs / Tom Chiu of Flux Quartet @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival (2016)
BOOK OF ETERNALISMS 40
BOOK OF ETERNALISMS 40 (2025)
BMT Canal Street
BMT Canal Street (2016)
Sky Dive
Sky Dive
BOOK OF ETERNALISMS 42
BOOK OF ETERNALISMS 42 (2026)
BOOK OF ETERNALISMS 43
BOOK OF ETERNALISMS 43 (2026)
Book of Eternalisms 7
Book of Eternalisms 7 (2023)
Book of Eternalisms 8
Book of Eternalisms 8 (2023)
Batchellor’s Dog and Beach
Batchellor’s Dog and Beach (2015)
The Winter Footage
The Winter Footage (1964)
Municipal Building Passage
Municipal Building Passage (2020)
Ken Jacobs / Robert Poss @The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival
Ken Jacobs / Robert Poss @The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival (2016)
Snow in Headlights II
Snow in Headlights II (2016)
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT (2019)

As Actor

As I Was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty
As I Was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)Self
Blonde Cobra
Blonde Cobra (1963)
Diaries, Notes, and Sketches
Diaries, Notes, and Sketches (1968)Self
What Is Cinema?
What Is Cinema? (2013)Self
Lost, Lost, Lost
Lost, Lost, Lost (1976)Self
Scotch Tape
Scotch Tape (1962)
Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film
Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film (2011)Himself
Momma's Man
Momma's Man (2008)Dad
Cinematic Correspondences: Jonas Mekas - J.L. Guerin
Cinematic Correspondences: Jonas Mekas - J.L. Guerin (2011)Himself
Star Spangled to Death
Star Spangled to Death (2004)Oscar Friendly / Ringmaster / Janitor
He Stands in a Desert Counting the Seconds of His Life
He Stands in a Desert Counting the Seconds of His Life (1986)Self (archive footage)
Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis
Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis (2007)Self
Sleepless Nights Stories
Sleepless Nights Stories (2011)Self
Horizons
Horizons (1973)
Jonas in the Desert
Jonas in the Desert (1994)Self
Fragments of Paradise
Fragments of Paradise (2022)Self
Birth of a Nation
Birth of a Nation (1997)Self
Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse
Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse (2025)Self
Quartet Number One
Quartet Number One (1991)
365 Day Project
365 Day Project (2007)Self
Santos Dumont: Pré-Cineasta?
Santos Dumont: Pré-Cineasta? (2010)Himself
Emma's Dilemma
Emma's Dilemma (2012)Himself
Bill's Hat
Bill's Hat (1967)
Art-House America: Austin Film Society
Art-House America: Austin Film Society (2023)Self
Nervous Ken
Nervous Ken (2003)
Home Movies 1971-81
Home Movies 1971-81 (1985)
Reminiscences of Jonas Mekas
Reminiscences of Jonas Mekas (2016)
Up the Illusion
Up the Illusion (2023)
Notes on the Buffalo Conference: “Autobiography in American Independent Cinema”
Notes on the Buffalo Conference: “Autobiography in American Independent Cinema” (1973)
Cyclopean 3D: Life with a Beautiful Woman
Cyclopean 3D: Life with a Beautiful Woman (2011)
Huge Pupils
Huge Pupils (1968)Himself
Lavender
Lavender (2010)Self
Ken Jacobs - from Orchard Street to the Museum of Modern Art
Ken Jacobs - from Orchard Street to the Museum of Modern Art (2023)Self
The Eternal Courtship
The Eternal Courtship (2013)

As Writer

Star Spangled to Death
Star Spangled to Death (2004)
Keaton's Cops
Keaton's Cops (1991)
Opening the Nineteenth Century: 1896
Opening the Nineteenth Century: 1896 (1991)
The Day Was a Scorcher
The Day Was a Scorcher (2009)
The Pushcarts Leave Eternity Street
The Pushcarts Leave Eternity Street (2011)
Another Occupation
Another Occupation (2011)
Spiral Nebula
Spiral Nebula (2005)