User:Granddukesfinances/Benten Films

Benten Films
Company typePrivate
IndustryMotion picture video production
Founded2007[1]
Headquarters,
USA
Key people
Andrew Grant
Aaron Hillis
ProductsDVDs
Websitewww.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

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Prior 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

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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

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References

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[[Category:DVD companies of the United States]] [[Category:Companies established in 2007]]