Ben Barenholtz

From 1966–68, Barenhotlz managed and lived in the Village Theater, which ultimately became the Fillmore East. At the Village Theater, Barenholtz provided a home for the counterculture, with appearances by Timothy Leary, Stokley Carmichael, Rap Brown, Allen Ginsberg, and Paul Krassner. Some of the first meetings of the anti-Vietnam War movement, including Poets Against Vietnam, were held at the Village Theater. It was also a major music venue, with performances by The Who, Leonard Cohen, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Nina Simone, and many others. It also provided a space for Yiddish Vaudeville and Chinese operas.

In 1968, the theater was bought by Bill Graham, who turned it into the Fillmore East, and Barenholtz went on to acquire the Elgin.

In 1968, Barenholtz opened the Elgin Cinema. Approaching The Film-Makers' Cooperative, Barenholtz suggested the Elgin would be a good place for experimental films, and was given Andy Warhol's Chelsea Girls and $48 to get the theater started. The following month, Barenholtz decided to book the theater himself.

The Elgin became the world's most innovative specialty and revival house, re-launching the films of Buster Keaton and D. W. Griffith, running a variety of independent films by young American directors, and screening cult, underground, and experimental films for the emerging counter cultural audience.

The films of Stan Brakhage, Jack Smith, Kenneth Anger, and Jonas Mekas, as well as early works by Jonathan Demme and Martin Scorsese, all played at the Elgin. The First International Cat Film Festival, and an early Woody Allen tribute (pre-"Sleeper") were also held at the Elgin.

Barenholtz developed new ways of screening movies. He began screening dance and opera films on Saturday and Sunday morning, and created the "All Night Show" movies starting at midnight and ending at dawn. Most notably, Barnenholtz originated the "Midnight Movie" in 1970 with Alejandro Jodorowsky's El Topo, which ran for six months, seven days a week, to sold-out audiences. John Lennon eventually bought the film. John Waters' Pink Flamingos followed El Topo at midnight, then Perry Henzell's The Harder They Come.

In 1972 Barenhotz formed the specialty distributor Libra Films. The first film that Libra Films distributed was a revival of Jean-Pierre Melville's Les Enfants Terrible, followed by Claude Chabrol's Just Before Nightfall, and Jean-Charles Tacchella's Cousin, Cousine, which became one of the highest-grossing foreign films in the United States and was nominated for three Academy Awards. Around this time, Barenholtz left the Elgin.

While at Libra, Barenholtz also launched and distributed, among others, George Romero's Martin; John Sayles' first feature, Return of the Secaucus Seven; David Lynch's first feature, Eraserhead; Karen Arthur's first feature, Legacy; Earl Mack's first feature, Children of Theater Street; and Péter Gothár's Time Stands Still, which won the New York Film Critic's Award for Best Foreign Film.

Barenholtz sold Libra Films to the Almi Group in 1982, but stayed with the company, becoming President of Libra-Cinema 5 Films. After a year and a half, he left Almi, and formed Circle Films, in partnership with Jim and Ted Pedas, which continued distributing films, including the Coen Brothers' first film Blood Simple, among others.

In 1984, after leaving Almi Barenholtz joined with Ted and Jim Pedas to form Circle Releasing. Among the films released by Circle were Yoshimitsu Morita's The Family Game, Guy Maddin's first feature, Tales from the Gimli Hospital, Vincent Ward's The Navigator, John Woo's The Killer, Catherine Breillat's 36 Fillette, DeWitt Sage's first feature, Pavarotti in China, Alain Cavalier's Thérèse, and Blood Simple, the first film by Joel and Ethan Coen.

With Blood Simple, Barenholtz and the Pedas brothers formed a relationship with the Coens, and began producing their next films, Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink, and Raising Arizona. Barton Fink won the Palme d'Or at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, as well as awards for Best Director and Best Actor. This was the first and last time the three top honors have all gone to the same film at Cannes.

Created in 1983, the company began producing films after Barenholtz left Circle Releasing, including George Romero's Bruiser, J Todd Anderson's The Naked Man, and Adek Drabiński's Cheat, which was Philip Seymour Hoffman's first appearance in film. He executive produced Gregory Hines' directorial debut, Bleeding Hearts, and Ulu Grosbard's Georgia, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Mare Winningham. He served as co-executive producer of Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream, which earned Ellen Burstyn an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in 2000.