ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

James Benning (film director)

Okay, so you know how some grown-ups like to make movies that tell stories? James Benning is one of those grown-ups. But instead of making movies with a lot of action or people talking, he makes movies that are really slow and quiet.

Sometimes his movies don't even have any people in them! They might just show a tree or a mountain or a building. But even though they're slow and quiet, they can still be really interesting.

James Benning likes to show how things change over time. So maybe he'll show a tree for a really long time and you can watch how the leaves move in the wind, or how the shadows change as the sun moves across the sky. He might show a building and you can watch how the light changes from morning to night.

So even though his movies might not have a lot of excitement, you can still learn a lot by watching them and seeing how things change.