Books by Benoit Cohen

A burnt out filmmaker finds new inspiration behind the wheel of an iconic New York City taxi cab, exploring a world where he is the stranger and the city his new workplace.After 20 years working on film and series shoots, Benoît Cohen is drained. His enthusiasm gone, a desire to stop writing and put down the camera takes over. In the city for a year, he still wonders about how best to absorb the rich diversity of the cosmopolitan metropolis, settling on a simple idea: he will become a taxi driver.  Behind the iconic Yellow Cab, behind the fantasy of freedom and independence, behind the faces of his thousands of passengers, Benoît discovers a world in which he is a stranger. First, the administrative maze that leads to the taxi driver’s license. Then the world behind the scenes. And, finally, the prejudices that surround the profession and lead the customers, cops and entire city to look at it, quite randomly, either with indifference, kindness, or aggression.  Benoît Cohen dives into his new life with the idea of turning it into a screenplay for a future film, but the material he collects from this social experiment marks him deeply, leading down unsuspected paths. The project transforms into an autobiographical novel interspersed with reflections on the creative process. With the help of Chabouté, it is now a sensitive, deeply human graphic novel, with breathtaking illustrations that pay vibrant tribute to the most famous of American cities.  

"Benoit Cohen, a French filmmaker living in New York learns that his mother Marie-France is about to welcome Mohammad, an Afghan refugee, into her mansion in the center of Paris where she lives alone. Cohen can't help but worry about his mother who is opening her home to a stranger. He returns to France to encounter Mohammad. Between Cohen who had chosen to leave his hometown, and Mohammad who had no choice in his fate, an intense relationship is born under the gaze of Marie-France who completes this unlikely trio. In this singular narrative, the author describes with warmth and humor the exhilarating and circuitous path that defines what 'to give' means in the complexity of the modern world."--

- This book is the journal of French filmmaker Benoit Cohen's pursuit of his "American dream" by becoming a New York taxi driver French filmmaker Benoit Cohen decided, while doing research for the screenplay of his new movie, to become a taxi driver. After passing his license, he spent several months roaming the five Boroughs behind the wheel of a yellow cab that he rented every morning from a garage in Queens. This book is the journal of his extraordinary adventure - the story of the pursuit of his "American dream." The book also includes Cohen's "on-/off-duty" activities of eating at New York's most famous restaurants and eateries. A directory of those are included in the back.