Produced at the junction of two millennia, the California Trilogy is James Benning's three-part topographical study of America's "Golden State". Looking to the past while investigating the present, the mathematician-turned-filmmaker condenses three distinct Californian landscapes into a total of 105 shots, each exactly 2˝ minutes long. Formal restraint and compositional precision combine with ambient sound and an unheard social commentary to create a hypnotic journey across the 31st US State; from the Great Central Valley (El Valley Centro) through greater Los Angeles (Los) to the Californian wilderness (Sogobi). This 2-disc set presents the complete California Trilogy for the first time ever on DVD.
The Films
El Valley Centro - USA 1999 - Directed, written, photographed, edited and produced by: James Benning - Premiere: January 22, 2000, Sundance Film Festival
Los - USA 2000 - Directed, written, photographed, edited and produced by: James Benning - Premiere: October 26, 2001, Viennale
Sogobi - USA 2001 - Directed, written, photographed, edited and produced by: James Benning - Premiere: February 7, 2002, Berlinale
DVD features (2-disc DVD)
DVD 1
- El Valley Centro 1999, 87'
- Los 2000, 87'
DVD 2
- Sogobi 2001, 87'
- 16 page bilingual booklet
Edited by: Österreichisches Filmmuseum Vienna
DVD authoring: Ralph Schermbach
DVD supervision: Oliver Hanley
First Edition December 2012, Second edition March 2015
