About

Known credits:
18
Birthday:
N/A
Place of birth:
New Mexico, USA
Website:
Click here

Ben Caldwell

Overview

Arts educator and independent filmmaker Ben Caldwell grew up assisting his grandfather, who projected movies at a small theater in New Mexico. His passion for the visual arts lead him to study film at UCLA and reside in the neighborhood of Leimert Park, epicenter for the African American art scene in Los Angeles. After teaching film and video at Howard University in Washington, D.C. from 1981-84, Caldwell returned to Leimert Park and created an independent studio for video production and experimentation that became the KAOS Network, a community arts center that provides training on digital arts, media arts and multimedia. It remains the only organization of its kind in South Central Los Angeles that offers courses in video production, animation, website development, video teleconferencing, CD-ROM production and Internet exploration. Its legendary Project Blowed is a weekly open-mic workshop that gave birth to rappers and rap groups such as Aceyalone, Medusa, Busdriver, Freestyle Fellowship and Jurassic Five.

Caldwell’s films often trace historical and cultural connections. Eyewitness: Reflections of Malcolm X & the O.A.A.U. (2006) presents the Harlem reunion of ex-members of the Organization of Afro-American Unity. La Buena Vida (The Good Life) (2008), filmed over the course of three years while Caldwell taught at the California Institute of the Arts, documents the cultural exchanges between a group of hip hop artists and musicians from Los Angeles and their counterparts in Havana, Cuba.

Known for

Directing
1979 I & I: An African Allegory Directing Director N/A
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1979 For Whose Entertainment Directing Director N/A
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1973 Medea Directing Director N/A
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Writing
1979 I & I: An African Allegory Writing Writer N/A
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1973 Medea Writing Writer N/A
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Production
1979 I & I: An African Allegory Production Producer N/A
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1979 For Whose Entertainment Production Producer N/A
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1973 Medea Production Producer N/A
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Camera
1982 Festival of Mask Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1980 African Woman – USA Camera Director of Photography N/A
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Crew
1995 The Snake in My Bed Crew Cinematography N/A
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1980 Gidget Meets Hondo Crew Cinematography N/A
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1979 I & I: An African Allegory Crew Cinematography N/A
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1979 Water Ritual #1: An Urban Rite of Purification Crew Cinematography 58
Average
1973 Medea Crew Cinematography N/A
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Editing
1979 I & I: An African Allegory Editing Editor N/A
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1979 For Whose Entertainment Editing Editor N/A
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1973 Medea Editing Editor N/A
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