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Twenty Cigarettes

Name: Twenty Cigarettes
Director: James Benning
Released: 2011
Duration: 99 min

Representation Score

5.8/10

Fair

2011

Director

James Benning

Runtime

99 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

James Benning’s *Twenty Cigarettes* functions as a meditative disruption of documentary clichés. By allowing the duration of each shot to be determined by the subjects’ actions, the film creates a democratic relationship between the viewer and the viewed. The work moves away from conventional storytelling, favoring a nuanced study of human presence. It resists easy categorization by giving significant control to the individuals being filmed. While the film succeeds in challenging traditional power dynamics and centering intellectual ability to act, the specific demographic breakdowns of the subject pool remain largely unstated.

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Category Breakdown

Does Twenty Cigarettes have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film uses a structure inspired by Andy Warhol’s screen tests to explore identity. While it doesn't show specific queer relationships, the close-up shots encourage a non-traditional look at the subjects.

How does Twenty Cigarettes portray gender?

Good

By featuring female intellectuals and filmmakers like Sharon Lockhart, the film emphasizes women's ability to drive the story. It avoids traditional male-centric portraiture by focusing on unmediated presence rather than standard narrative roles.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Twenty Cigarettes?

Fair

The film captures a range of physical characteristics through James Benning's circle of friends. However, the specific racial makeup of this personal group is not explicitly detailed.

How does Twenty Cigarettes represent religion and culture?

Good

The work frames the stigmatized ritual of smoking through a secular, existentialist lens. It prioritizes individual experiences over institutional or religious structures and social norms.

Does Twenty Cigarettes include disability representation?

Minimal

The film does not provide evidence of disability as a central theme. There is no specific focus on neurodivergence or physical impairment within the portraits.

Present on Screen

Subverts traditional directorial control by letting subjects determine shot length.
Centers women's ability to drive the story through the inclusion of prominent female intellectuals.
Avoids didactic storytelling in favor of a democratic, observational approach.

Limited or Absent

Lacks explicit detail regarding the racial composition of the subjects.
Does not provide clear evidence of disability or neurodivergent representation.
Specific queer identities and intimacies remain unconfirmed within the portraits.

Official Synopsis

Celebrated for his minimal, monumental landscape studies, James Benning turns to the intimacy of the portrait in his latest film, TWENTY CIGARETTES. Referencing Warhol’s screen tests, 1930s Hollywood glamour, and the disappearing cigarette break, the film captures 20 of Benning’s friends (including filmmaker Sharon Lockhart, cultural theorist Dick Hebdige, and book editor Janet Jenkins) satiating their smoke cravings. Each shot’s length is determined by the time it takes each subject to smoke a cigarette, and over the course of the film a dynamic range of personalities emerges out of an array of physical characteristics, distinctive settings, and personal relationships to the camera. (Amy Beste and Jessica Bardsley)

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