MARK BENJAMIN is a Director, Cinematographer, Producer and original Founder of Brick City TV, along with long time partner Marc Levin.
Over the last 50 years Mark Benjamin has built his reputation through an allegiance to film and television. Director cameraman Benjamin has created numerous independent films, twelve Bill Moyers documentaries, six National Geographic films and ten films for HBO, ABC, CBS, NBC, TBS, and the Discovery Channel.
Benjamin’s 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. Through the 80s and 90s Benjamin was a working documentary cameraman internationally.
Benjamin was a producer at CBS News at 27 and continued to always operate his own camera. At CBS he made with Elisabeth Benjamin Twice Promise Land. In 1976 Benjamin created the independent film Jerusalem Peace where the PBS documentary premiered at the Museum of Modern Art in the Directors Fortnight. In 1986 Ben filmed the treasure hunt film ATOCHA in the Florida Keys. 1993 Benjamin directed and filmed the Robert Downey Jr. feature documentary THE LAST PARTY. Fast forward.
In 2009 and 2010, Benjamin and Levin created a new kind of television. Ben served as Executive Producer with Forest Whitaker and was the Director of Brick City, the 11 hour Peabody award winning and twice Emmy nominated docu-series from the Sundance Channel made TV history.
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 for best documentary film, Soldiers in the Army of God and many more. Benjaminʼs camera also operated the cult classic documentary “Mondo New York” and he filmed the documentary series “A Time of Aids” broadcast on the Discovery Channel.
Over multiple decades, Benjamin was the DP on Al Levin documentary films. The New Immigrants PBS EMMY, The Secret Government PBS EMMY, Thug Life HBO EMMY, Portrait of American Zealot PBS, Inside the Jury Room, Frontline PBS.
1998 The Sundance Grand Jury Prize for best dramatic film and the Cannes FilmFestival Camera DʼOr went to SLAM with cinematography by Benjamin. A film shot in ten days in the Washington DC Jail.
Long time collaborators, Benjamin was the cinematographer on the Marc Levin directed Fox Searchlight picture Whiteboys starring Danny Hoch and Piper Perabo and the feature film Brooklyn Babylon with the Roots, from Studio Artisan.
Jails, Hospitals & Hip-Hop, the feature documentary was produced, directed and lensed by Benjamin. In 2001 Benjamin filmed the Don King China fight film. In 2002 Benjamin directed the National Geographic documentary Attack on the Pentagon after 9/11.
The HBO prison doc Going Home, was short listed for the 2003 Oscar Short Film documentary category. The HBO film Protocols of Zion was the Benjamin filmed and premiering in 2005 at the Sundance & Berlin film festivals. In 2008 Mark Benjamin directed the Frank Capra Jr. produced – Screen Gems co-pro Why We Fight Now about the global war on terror about the US ARMY Special Forces Green Berets.
In 2009 and 2010 Benjamin created the series and the production company Brick City. Ben and Levin were the Executive Producer and Directors on the award winning series Brick City. The 11 hour Newark, New Jersey documentary show received the 2010 Peabody award and was twice EMMY nominated. Forest Whitaker was an Executive Producer. Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Blood and Crip gang members were the series protagonist.
For over three decades filmmaker Benjamin teamed up with Bill Moyers on 12 documentary films. “Bill Moyers Journal” and “Creativity with Bill Moyers” both won EMMYs, Benjamin filmed “People of Nes Amim”, “Detroit Model”, “Barry Commoner and the Politics of Energy”, “Texas Notebook”, “Professor Grubbs”, “Watts”, “JimmyCarter”, “Ronald Ragan”. “Moral Majority”, “The Constitution in Crisis”, “Women Inside”, “Performing Arts High School”.
In 2016 Benjamin and Levin produced Bill Moyers last documentary “RIKERS an American Jail”. Benjamin was also the director of photography. This was a PBS national broadcast doc about the culture of violence in the NYC jail and screened at DOCNYC.
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.
2024 - FATAL WATCH. A salty eco thriller feature documentary about marine observers being murdered at sea. The acclaimed film has screened internationally and is streaming on Apple TV and Amazon Prime in 100 countries. In 2026 Benjamin was a cameraman on Paramount + / CBS “Daughters of 911”.
In the Fall of 2012, Marc Levin and Mark Benjamin executive produced the BET 2 hour election special Second Coming: Will Black America Decide the 2012 Election? Sam Pollard was also an Executive Producer.
Benjamin and his Brick City partner, Marc Levin returned to Newark in 2013 to produce Jersey Strong, a documentary series for Participant Media’s cable network Pivot that focuses on two unconventional families striving to achieve the American Dream. Executive Produced by Jeff Skoll.
Benjamin and Levin, along with Robert Redford and Laura Michalchyshyn are Executive Producers on the CNN Original 8 hour docuseries, CHICAGOLAND, premiered in 2014. A hard look at the killing field Chicago can be seen as with gun violence out of control. Benjamin and Levin are also directing.
In 2015 Benjamin created, executive produced and directed the 6 hour marine conservation series “OCEAN WARRIORS” - about criminality at sea with Discovery Animal Planet, Sundance Productions and Vulcan Productions. Paul G. Allen, Robert Redford and Marc Levin were also executive producers. This series was broadcast in over fifty countries around the world. The show won the Best Series Award at Jackson Hole. 2017 the feature documentary Chasing the Thunder was screened internationally in 50 countries. Millions saw Thunder on Discovery Networks internationally. Thunder is Currently streaming on Apple TV.
Benjamin is a DGA - Director Guild of America Director and Camera Union Local 600 IATSE Director of Photography - For further information please go to brickcitytv.com and fatalwatch.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Benjamin - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0071331/