| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Motion picture video production |
| Founded | 2007[1] |
| Headquarters | , USA |
Key people | Andrew Grant Aaron Hillis |
| Products | DVDs |
| Website | www.bentenfilms.com |
Benten Films is a video-distribution company that releases contemporary independent and arthouse films on DVD in the United States. Like the releases of the Criterion Collection,[1] Benten's DVDs are known for their design,[2] detailed special features and the high quality of their transfers.[1] [3] Founded in 2007 by Brooklyn-based film critics Aaron Hillis and Andrew Grant with the intention of distributing lesser-known and low-budget films in high-quality DVD releases[1], its motto is "DVDs curated by critics."[4]
The company is known for the production quality of its releases[1] and for its association with the mumblecore movement,[3] many of the key works of which were released on home video by Benten.
History
editPrior to writing about movies, Andrew Grant worked for ten years as a business analyst on Wall Street.[1] After his original plan for founding a DVD distributor fell through in 2005, Grant teamed with Aaron Hillis, a fellow freelance critic and the current writer of the GreenCine Daily film blog. The company was founded with $80,000 of Grant's savings and roughly $50,000 in loands.[1] Grant is the company's CEO, and Hillis serves as its Vice President and Art Director.[5] The company's name is derived from Benzaiten, the Japanese name for Hindu goddess Saraswati.[4]
In 2009, Benten entered a partnership with Watchmaker Films, a UK-based DVD distributor that deals in film restorations.[5]
Releases
edit| Spine Number | Title(s) | Director | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LOL | Joe Swanberg | 2006 |
| 2 | Quiet City / Dance Party USA | Aaron Katz | 2007 / 2006 |
| 3 | The Guatemalan Handshake | Todd Rohal | 2007 |
| 4 | The Free Will (Der freie Wille) | Matthias Glasner | 2006 |
| 5 | Team Picture | Kentucker Audley | 2007 |
| 6 | The GoodTimesKid | Azazel Jacobs | 2005 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h Benten Films: A Start-Up Label for Indie Films, Lost Souls from The Wall Street Journal
- ^ Quiet City & Dance Party, USA, on DVD Today
- ^ a b Tribeca Film: Getting to Know… Benten Films
- ^ a b Benten Films' Frequently Asked Questions
- ^ a b .Indie DVD labels Benten and Watchmaker partner
[[Category:DVD companies of the United States]] [[Category:Companies established in 2007]]