# Mark Benjamin

Mark Benjamin (born 1947) is an American documentary filmmaker best known for the Sundance TV series Brick City and the feature film Slam. His most recent television series, Chicagoland aired on CNN in 2014.

## Film and television

| Year | Project | Network | Credit | Festivals and Project Awards |
| 1974 | Lamp Unto My Feet: My Father's House | CBS | Director, Director of Photography | |
| 1975 | Cold Frame | CBS | Director, Director of Photography | Shown in the Basel Art Fair |
| 1975 | Lamp Unto My Feet: Twice Promised Land | CBS | Producer, Director, Director of Photography | |
| 1977 | Jerusalem Peace | PBS | Producer, Director, Director of Photography | Chicago Film Festival, The Museum of Modern Art - Director's Series |
| 1979 | Bill Moyers Journal - The People of Nes Ammim | PBS | Producer, Director | |
| 1980 | Bill Moyers Journal - Women Inside | PBS | Producer, Director | American Film Festival - Blue Ribbon |
| 1980 | Bill Moyers Journal - Barry Commoner: The Politics of Energy | PBS | Producer, Director | |
| 1980 | Bill Moyers Journal - Campaign Report: Watts | PBS | Producer, Director | |
| 1980 | Bill Moyers Journal - Campaign Report: Ronald Reagan | PBS | Producer, Director | |
| 1980 | Bill Moyers Journal - Campaign Report: Jimmy Carter | PBS | Producer, Director | |
| 1980 | Bill Moyers Journal - Evangelicals and the Right | PBS | Producer, Director | |
| 1980 | We are the Guinea Pigs | PBS | Director of Photography | |
| 1980 | The New Immigrants Series | PBS | Director of Photography | New York Emmy |
| 1981 | NBC White Paper: Crisis in Black America | NBC | Director of Photography | Monte Carlo Film and Television Festival |
| 1982 | Creativity with Bill Moyers - Performing Arts High School | PBS | Director, Director of Photography | Primetime Emmy - WON |
| 1982 | Portrait of an American Zealot | PBS | Director of Photography | Included in the Museum of Modern Art's permanent film collection, Cinema du Real, Carnegie Hall Cinema |
| 1983 | Portrait of America - Puerto Rico | TBS | Director, Director of Photography | Peabody Award Winner, CINE Golden Eagle |
| 1984 | Los Sures | PBS | Director of Photography | New York Film Festival, American Film Festival - Blue Ribbon, Global Village Festival |
| 1985 | Wall Street Connection | WCBS | Director of Photography | Emmy - Outstanding Documentary (nominated) |
| 1985 | National Geographic Explorer: Smoke Jumpers | National Geographic Society | Producer, Director | |
| 1986 | Frontline - Inside the Jury Room | PBS | Director of Photography | Blue Ribbon Award, American Film and Video Festival Monitor Award Best Public Affairs Program (nominated) and Best Editing (nominated) |
| 1987 | National Geographic's Atocha: Quest for Treasure | National Geographic Society | Director of Photography | American Film Festival, Houston Film Festival - Best Documentary Film, Cine Golden Eagle |
| 1988 | The Secret Government: The Constitution in Crisis | PBS | Director of Photography | American Film Festival, Blue Ribbon Awards, Best Film - WON, News & Documentary Emmy Awards - WON |
| 1988 | Comedy's Dirtiest Dozen | HBO | Director of Photography | |
| 1988 | Mondo New York | Island Picture | Camera Operator | |
| 1988 | Driving Me Crazy | TMG | Additional Camera | |
| 1989 | How to Raise a Drug Free Kid | HBO | Director of Photography | ACE Award - Educational Special (WON) |
| 1989 | Badlands | | Director of Photography | Monitor Award |
| 1990 | Takeover | PBS | Director of Photography | Sundance Film Festival |
| 1991 | Blowback | | Director of Photography | |
| 1991 | The Home Front with Bill Moyers | PBS | Director of Photography | duPont-Columbia Award - Gold Baton |
| 1992 | Damned in the USA | PBS | Director of Photography | WINNER International Emmy Best Arts Documentary 1991, WINNER Silver Plaque Chicago International Festival 1991, WINNER Melbourne Festival 1991, Edinburgh Film Festival 1991, Margaret Mead Film Festival, New York 1991, Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival 1991, Rotterdam Film Festival 1992, Cork Film Festival 1991, Human Rights Watch Film Festival, New York 1992 |
| 1993 | The Last Party | Triton/ Live Home Video | Director, Director of Photography | Mill Valley Film Festival |
| 1994 | Gang War: Bangin' in Little Rock | HBO | Director of Photography | CableACE Award for Best Documentary, Silver Medal for Best Documentary, Houston International Film Festival |
| 1994 | A Time of AIDS | The Discovery Channel | Director of Photography | International Emmy - WON |
| 1995 | Talking Sex | HBO | Director of Photography | National Emmy |
| 1995 | VH1's The Goods by Todd Oldham | VH1 | Producer, Director | |
| 1996 | Prisoners of the War on Drugs | HBO | Director of Photography | |
| 1997 | CIA: America's Secret Warriors | Discovery Channel | Director of Photography | duPont-Columbia Award, CableACE - Best Director (nominated) |
| 1997-2001 | Egg The Arts Show/ City Arts | PBS | Director of Photography | New York Emmy Award - series |
| 1998 | Dead Blue: Surviving Depression | HBO | Director of Photography | Emmy Award: Outstanding Documentary Or Nonfiction Special - WON |
| 1998 | Naked City: Justice with a Bullet | Paramount Television, Magnum Productions | Additional Photography | |
| 1998 | Slam | Lions Gate | Director of Photography | New York Film Festival, Grand Jury Prize - Sundance Film Festival, Camera D'Or & Prix du Public - Cannes Film Festival, 1998 Black Film and Video Network's Reel Black Award |
| 1999 | Thug Life in D.C. | HBO | Director of Photography | Emmy for Outstanding Non-Fiction Special, National Council on Crime and Delinquency PASS Award, First Place Winner 32nd Annual Media Awards Competition, National Council on Family Relations |
| 1999 | Whiteboyz | 20th Century Fox | Director of Photography | |
| 2000 | Jails, Hospitals & Hip-Hop | | Producer, Director, Director of Photography | Urban World Film Festival, Latino Film Festival, Santa Fe Film Festival |
| 2000 | Soldiers in the Army of God | HBO | Director of Photography | NARAL Courageous Advocate Award |
| 2000 | EGG, The Arts Show: Who Am I? | PBS | Producer | |
| 2001 | Brooklyn Babylon | Lions Gate, Artisan Entertainment, Canal + | Director of Photography | Slamdance (Opening Night film), Hawaii International Film Festival |
| 2001 | School's In | Disney Channel | Producer, Director, Director of Photography | |
| 2002 | Middle School Confessions | HBO Family | Additional Camera | |
| 2002 | Gladiator Days: Anatomy of a Prison Murder | HBO | Director of Photography | |
| 2002 | The Trials of Henry Kissinger | BBC | Director of Photography | Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival 2002: Amnesty International - DOEN Award - WON, Independent Spirit Awards 2003 - Truer Than Fiction Award - NOMINATED |
| 2003 | Hooked: The Legend of Demetrius Hook Mitchell | | Director of Photography | Tribeca Film Festival |
| 2003 | The Blues: Godfathers and Sons | PBS | Director of Photography | Venice Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival |
| 2003 | Dave Mathews Band: The Central Park Concert | RCA Records Label | Camera Operator | |
| 2003 | Retrospective | | Director, Cameraman | Edison Film Festival |
| 2003 | Going Home | HBO | Director, Director of Photography | Contemporary Documentary Series — presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Academy Foundation and the UCLA Film & Television Archive |
| 2004 | On the Outs | Fader Films, Youth House Productions | Director of Photography - 2nd Unit | Toronto Film Festival |
| 2004 | The First Amendment Project: Poetic License | PBS | Director of Photography | |
| 2004 | America Undercover: Back in the Hood: Gang War II | HBO | Director of Photography | |
| 2004 | Art in Progress: Philip Pearlstein | | Director of Photography | |
| 2005 | Protocols of Zion | HBO/Cinemax and ThinkFilm | Director of Photography | Berlin Film Festival, Sundance, Gold Hugo - Chicago International Film Festival (Best Documentary - nominated) |
| 2005 | The American Ruling Class | The Alive Mind | Director of Photography | Aired on Sundance Channel |
| 2007 | The Music in Me: A Family Special | HBO Family | Director, Director of Photography | Peabody Award Winner |
| 2008 | Why We Fight Now | Military Channel | Director, Director of Photography | |
| 2009 | Brick City - Season 1 | SundanceTV | Executive Producer, Director | 2009 Peabody Award Winner, 2010 Golden Eagle Cine Award, Emmy - Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking (nominated),[17] NAACP Image Award (nominated), International Documentary Association (IDA) 2010 - Continuing Series (nominated) |
| 2010 | Dirty Old Town | | Producer | New York Independent Film Festival, Royal Flush Film Festival |
| 2010 | Brick City Season 2 | SundanceTV | Executive Producer, Director | TIME - Top Television Shows of 2011 (Honorable Mention),[21] 2012 News and Documentary Emmy for "Outstanding Informational Programming - Long Form" (nominated) |
| 2011 | The After Party: The Last Party 3 | | Cameraman | New York Los Angeles International Film Festival - Best Documentary Feature - WINNER, Duke City DocFest - Freedom of Speech Award - WINNER, Los Angeles Cinema Festival of Hollywood - Best Documentary Feature - WINNER, ThrillSpy International Film Festival - Best Documentary - WINNER |
| 2012 | Second Coming?: Will Black America Decide the 2012 Election | BET | Executive Producer, Director | Cronkite Award - National Network Programming - BET (awarded as part of the network's election coverage) |
| 2013 | Jersey Strong | Pivot | Executive Producer, Director | |
| 2013 | Flex is Kings | | Consulting Producer | Tribeca Film Festival, Somerville Subterranean Cinema |
| 2014 | Chicagoland | CNN | Executive Producer, Director, Director of Photography | Silver Hugo Award - Chicago International Film Festiva 2014 IDA: International Documentary Association: Best Limited Series Award - Nominated |
| 2016 | Rikers | | Producer, Director of Photography | DOCNYC |
| 2016 | Oceans Warriors | Animal Planet / Discovery | Executive Producer, Director | |