Our Team
Mark Benjamin
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Over the last 40 years Mark Benjamin has built his reputation through an allegiance to film and television. Director cameraman Benjamin has created numerous independent films, eight Bill Moyers documentaries, six National Geographic films and ten films for HBO, ABC, CBS, NBC, TBS, and the Discovery Channel. Benjaminʼs first filming assignment was the war in the Middle East in 1973 where he was a combat cameraman for NBC News in the Sinai Desert. In 2009 and 2010, Benjamin served as Executive Producer and Director of Brick City, a Peabody award winning and twice Emmy nominated docu-series on Sundance Channel.
Benjamin’s credits also include directing and shooting the Robert Downey Jr. feature documentary The Last Party. Recent films shot by Benjamin include CIA: Americaʼs Secret Warriors on Discovery Channel, awarded a duPont Columbia Award, HBOʼs Prisoners of the War on Drugs, HBOʼs Gang War-Banging in Little Rock, awarded the ACE award for best documentary, HBOʼs Texas Death Machine, HBOʼs Thug Life in DC, a National Emmy best documentary film, Soldiers in the Army of God and many more. Benjaminʼs camera also operated the cult classic "Mondo New York” and filmed the documentary series "A Time of Aids" broadcast on the Discovery Channel.
The Sundance Grand Jury Prize for best dramatic film and the Cannes Film Festival Camera DʼOr went to Slam with cinematography by Benjamin. Long time collaborators, Benjamin was the cinematographer on the Marc Levin directed Fox Searchlight picture Whiteboys starringDanny Hoch and the feature Brooklyn Babylon from Artisan. Jails, Hospitals & Hip-Hop the feature documentary, was produced, directed and lensed by Benjamin. In 2001 Benjamin made the Don King China fight film. In 2002 Benjamin directed the National Geographic specialAttack on the Pentagon after 9/11 and the HBO prison doc Going Home, which was shortlisted for the 2003 Oscar documentary short category. Protocols of Zion was the Benjamin DPʼed film premiering in 2005 at the Sundance & Berlin film festivals. In 2008 Mark Benjamin directed the Frank Capra Jr. – Screen Gems produced Why We Fight Now about the global war on terror with the US ARMY Special Forces/Green Berets. In 2009 and 2010 Benjamin was an Executive Producer and Director of the award winning series Brick City.
In the Fall of 2012, Marc Levin and Mark Benjamin executive produced BET's 2 hour election special Second Coming?:Will Black America Decide the 2012 Election.
Benjamin and his Brick City partner, Marc Levin, returned to Newark in 2013 to produce Jersey Strong, a docu-soap for Participant Media's new cable network, pivot, that focuses on two unconventional families striving to achieve the American Dream. Benjamin and Levin along with Robert Redford, Executive Produced the CNN’s 8 hour documentary-series CHICAGOLAND - about the tale of two cities and the ongoing urban violence on the streets of this great mid-western American city. Benjamin also directed and was one of the cinematographers.
In 2015 Benjamin created, executive produced and directed the six hour marine conservation series “OCEAN WARRIORS” with Discovery Animal Planet, Sundance Productions and Vulcan Productions. Paul G. Allen, Robert Redford and Marc Levin were also executive producers. This was broadcast in over fifty countries around the world.
In 2016 Benjamin and Levin produced the Bill Moyers documentary “RIKERS”. Benjamin was also the director of photography. This was a PBS broadcast doc about the culture of violence in the NYC jail.
In 2017 Benjamin was an executive producer and cinematographer on Brick City TV’s “INSIDE THE FBI - NEW YORK” a co-production with Dick Wolf. Marc Levin was the show runner and executive producer. This documentary-series looks at the NY office of the FBI and counter terrorism.
In 2018 after OCEAN WARRIORS won the Best Series Award at the Jackson Hole Wildlife film festival Benjamin created, Executive Producer and Directed the feature documentary CHASING THE THUNDER. Executive Produced by Paul G. Allen with Vulcan Productions, The film is an essential illegal fishing eco-thriller that has screened globally in 200 cities to sold out audiences and continues to win international awards. THUNDER has screened at over thirty film festival.
2019 - Benjamin directed MURDER AT SEA, the feature documentary thriller that exposes the true cost of unchecked industrial fishing, the human lives sacrificed, the money made and the environmental threats to the future of the ocean.