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Selected Projects
Below are some of past projects which
Joshua Bennett Executive Produced,
Directed and Produced.
Atlanta's Missing and Murdered, The Lost Children. 5x1 Hour series HBO. Executive Producer/Director
A never-before-seen look at the killings of at least 30 African-American children and young adults that occurred over a two-year period in the Georgia capital. The series won the IDA award for best documentary series, the African American Film Critics Association award and was nominated and Independent Spirit Award and a Peabody Award.
Hostages, 4 x1 hour documentary series for HBO. Executive Producer/ Director
On November 4, 1979, Iranian student activists stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran, taking over 60 Americans hostage. What was planned as a 48-hour sit-in to protest American imperialism, ballooned into an international crisis and 24/7 media event that would last 444 days. With never-before-seen archival footage and revelatory new interviews with the American hostages and Iranian hostage-takers alike, the series is a gripping chronicle of one of the most dramatic international deadlocks in American history, a deep dive into the geo-political history that led to the crisis, and an exploration of the political fallout that reverberates today. Nominated for 3 Emmy Awards and winner of Emmy award for best historical documentary series.
Los Comandos, Documentary Short Film. Producer/Director
In El Salvador, gang violence has overrun the country, disproportionately targeting children and teenagers, and turning it into 'The Murder Capital of the World'. The emergency medical unit, Los Commandos de Salvamento is one of the few institutions standing up to the gangs' reign of terror, and is a place of refuge and community for young people. 16 year old Mimi is a dedicated Commando caught in the violence. When her friend and fellow Commando, 12 year old Erick Beltran, is gunned down while serving, she faces pressure to leave El Salvador and Los Commandos, and head north for a better life. Winner best documentary short, Austin Film Festival, Nominated for an IDA award for best Documentary Short, and Shortlisted for an Academy Award.
Soundbreaking, Stories from the Cutting Edge of Recorded Music, Series Producer.
Soundbreaking explores the history of recorded music. Featuring more than 150 original interviews, the series charts a century's worth of innovation and experimentation, and offers a behind-the-scenes look at the birth of brand new sounds. Nominated for a Grammy for best music documentary.
Sky and Ground, Feature Documentary, PBS/World. Executive Producer, Co-director.
A compelling, ground-level immersion into the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time, Sky & Ground accompanies the Nabi clan, a large, extended Syrian-Kurdish family, as they painstakingly make their way from their home in Aleppo, bombed out by the war, to the Idomeni refugee camp on the border of Greece and Macedonia. Their goal is Berlin, where they will reunite with family members and seek asylum but first they must make the arduous and dangerous journey through Serbia, Hungary and Austria. Nominated for an IDA award for best documentary feature.
Half the Sky, 2 x2 hour documentary series and Multimedia campaign, PBS and social media. Producer.
HALF THE SKY is a passionate call-to-arms, urging us not only to bear witness to the plight of the world's women, but to help to transform their oppression into opportunity. Our future is in the hands of women everywhere. Winner multiple Real Screen awards, Television Academy Honors Award.
A Path Appears, 2x2 Hour documentary series and media campaign, PBS. Series Producer
The follow up to Half the Sky, An exploration of how altruism affects us, what are the markers for success, and how to avoid the pitfalls--with scrupulous research and on-the-ground reporting from the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Nick Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.
Wevolve Global, Media Campaign
WEvolve Global was conceived in the World Bank with the objective of identifying creative ways to change attitudes and behaviors on gender following the 2012 Delhi rape case and uprisings that followed across India. The campaign featured short films with Bollywood stars and "The Blue Runway" Fashion show, featuring Rosario Dawson.
The 100 Million, Short films and Social Campaign. Executive Producer
Partnered with The Knight Foundation to create short documentary films and supporting content that dives deeper into the stories of non-voters and the on-the-ground efforts to engage these Americans in democracy.
Their stories are emotional, experiential, and bring viewers into the point-of-views of 'forgotten' non-voters. These voters also represent a diverse cross section of Americans——conservative and democratic, rich and poor, young and old, rural and urban.
Their stories are emotional, experiential, and bring viewers into the point-of-views of 'forgotten' non-voters. These voters also represent a diverse cross section of Americans——conservative and democratic, rich and poor, young and old, rural and urban.
Where is Private Dulaney 3 x1 documentary series, Hulu. Executive Producer/Director
n 1979, Private Leroy Dulaney vanishes from his post at Camp Lejeune. The Marine Corps say he went AWOL, but his mother Carol knows in her gut that something is wrong. Determined to find out what happened to her son, she uncovers a world of gun running, drugs, cults and serial killers.
Tightrope, Americans Reaching for Hope. 2 hour documentary, PBS/World Channel. Executive Producer, Co-director
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn explore the causes and costs of addiction, poverty and incarceration plaguing America, from the inner city to small towns like Kristof's hometown of Yamhill, Oregon. While pockets of empathy and aid exist, are they enough to rescue the thousands of Americans in despair, for whom the American Dream of self-reliance is impossibly out of reach?
We The Voters
A collection of 20 short films that offers quirky takes on the issues that define our generation - student debt, inequality, healthcare, immigration, media polarization, and more.
Pinkster at Philipsburg Manor
A short documentary showcasing The African American holiday of Pinkster, celebrated every year at Philipsburg Manor. In 2023, spoken word artist Malik Work curated a joyful celebration of Black history and culture with the theme "Remember the Past. Reimagine the Future." Musicians such as Maurice Brown and Kofi Donkor, vocalist Imani Uzuri, DJ Goodwill, krump dance troupe Hallow Dreamz, storyteller Joy Kelly and others joined Work on the mainstage. The film was produced for Historic Hudson Valley and Con Edison.
An Impossible Choice, Documentary Short Film, Producer/Director
Produced for Refugee resettlement agency RefugePoint and Women In the World, An Impossible Choice,” highlights a Congo rescue mission in which humanitarians Sasha Chanoff and Sheikha Ali faced an impossible choice. Their mission was to rescue 112 people from the Congo, with specific instructions that no additional refugees could be evacuated. But when Sasha and Sheikha came across a group of widows and orphans in desperate need of evacuation, they faced a moral dilemma. Should they attempt to save the additional people, and in doing so put everyone's lives at risk? This experience led Sasha Chanoff to found the nonprofit RefugePoint, which provides lasting solutions for the world’s most at-risk refugees, especially women, children, and urban refugees.
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