Benjamin Smoke is a mesmerizing ten-year dreamlike documentary portrait by directors Jem Cohen and Peter Sillen following HIV-positive Atlanta underground musician Benjamin Dickerson to create a moody pastiche of this pill-popping drag queen philosopher poet through his roller coaster life and untimely death. Cohen and Sillen treat their intense subject with passion and positivity, opting to display the gritty reality of Benjamin's life while shying away from romanticizing his rebelliousness and penchant for excess.