Marc Bennett

Marc Bennett has spent his life creating powerful images and stories in print and on film. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Bennett received his education at The Brooklyn Museum Art School, The School of Visual Arts in New York City, and Otis Parsons and Art Center in Los Angeles. He got his start designing sets for theatrical, musical and operatic productions in New York and Los Angeles, and is a two-time recipient of the Dramalogue Critics Award for Best Scenic Design. As an artist and photographer, his work has been shown in exhibitions throughout the United States, and is a part of many private collections. He is a recipient of the Art of California Magazine's "Discovery Award" and the Stamford Art Association's "Color Award," and his artwork has been used in campaigns to raise money and awareness for numerous organizations and charities such as Aids Project Los Angeles, Cancervive, the Grammys' MusiCares, Free Arts for Children, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Aspen Center for Integral Health, the Anti-Defamation League, Hadassah, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Museum of Tolerance. Bennett has formed a unique artistic and philanthropic partnership with Soroka Medical Center, Israel's most vital medical institution in the Negev, where a monumental version of his artwork, "The History of the Star of David" is being installed and a percentage of all worldwide art sales from the project will go to support Soroka's life-saving mission. As the national airline of Israel, ELAL has become the corporate partner for the project. He is also a recipient of Soroka's "Healing Arts Award." His artwork is a part of the public collections of Yad Vashem, Holocaust Museum LA, the California Afro-American Museum, the Martin Luther King Jr. Foundation, Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, Aspen Jewish Community Center, the Jona Goldrich Center for Digital Story Telling at USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education, and the Holocaust Documentation & Education Center & Museum in South Florida. "For Peace Sake!," an artwork he created in conjunction with R&B Live and Athletes & Entertainers for Kids after the Los Angeles riots, became part of a successful fundraising and public awareness campaign throughout the city. The project served as a powerful reminder to maintain peace, safety and equality in our lives and raised funds for numerous organizations aiding in the revitalization of Los Angeles. The artwork was presented to Mayor Bradley in a special ceremony commemorating his outstanding work in the community. Lithographs of the artwork have been selling at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles for over 25 years. Bennett was the creative director for the music television network The Tube, and was instrumental in creating the branding of the network, as well as designing, producing, and directing many of the network's commercials and promos. While there, he also produced the documentary "Bridge to Havana" which followed an inspiring musical event in Cuba and was shot by Haskell Wexler and starred Gladys Knight, Bonnie Raitt, Mick Fleetwood and some of Cuba's most renowned musicians. As a director, he has helmed feature films, documentaries, music videos, and national commercials. His credits include the feature film "Should've Been Romeo" starring an eclectic ensemble cast including Carol Kane, Ed Asner, Michael Rapaport, Mary McCormack, Natasha Henstridge, Evan Handler, Kelly Osborne, and Paul Ben-Victor, the short films "From Fairfax with Love" and "Mother's Day," the documentaries "Life Matters, A Journey of Hope and Survival," the award-winning "Hot Flash Havoc," narrated by Goldie Hawn and "The Beach Boys 50" which stars five of the original Beach Boys including Brian Wilson and Mike Love. Also, a serendipitous interview he directed with O.J. and Nicole Simpson two weeks before the infamous crime is featured in the Academy Award-winning documentary, "O.J.: Made in America." Bennett directed the award-winning animated short film "The Tattooed Torah," based on the renowned children's book, with Ed Asner providing the voice of the main character. The film is a co-production of the Goldrich Family Foundation and USC Shoah Foundation. He also directed the Spanish version of the film "La Pequeña Torá Tatuada," with Latin star Fernando Allende providing the voice. Both versions of the film are now part of USC Shoah Foundation's online educational platform, IWitness, and are accompanied by educational resources to be used by schools and teachers worldwide. The film has been an official selection of over 40 film festivals around the world, winning numerous awards including Best Animated Short and Best Adaptation, and is listed in The Wrap's "10 Films That Keep the Holocaust Fresh in Our Memories," alongside such films as Jojo Rabbit, Life is Beautiful, Sophie's Choice, The Pianist, and Schindler's List. Bennett is the recipient of the Best Shorts Competition "Outstanding Achievement Humanitarian Award" which honors filmmakers who are bringing awareness to important issues and committed to making a difference in the world through memorable filmmaking. He is currently directing the feature-length documentary "Ride for the Living," which tells the inspirational story of an annual bike ride that re-traces the steps of a young Polish Holocaust survivor from Auschwitz to Krakow in 1945, and explores whether the power of empathy might actually be harnessed to face down the way perpetrators of genocide have marshaled fear, ignorance, bigotry, and anti-Semitism. Bennett is an associate producer on the new documentary "Shared Legacies: The African-American Jewish Civil Rights Alliance," which examines the relationship between the African-American and Jewish communities during the Civil Rights era and is an executive producer on the upcoming documentary "Who Are The Marcuses?" which tells the remarkable story of the largest single charitable gift in Israel's history, of over $500 Million to Israel's Ben-Gurion University, from the estate of Holocaust survivors Lottie and Howard Marcus. Their legacy is a triumph of survival, humility, philanthropy, selflessness, and commitment to the global issues that shape our time. Among Bennett's many commercial credits are the spots he did for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, which promoted a major retrospective for artist Keith Haring and won the World Medal at the New York Festival's Television Advertising Awards. He also directed the music video "Pray" for legendary gospel singer, songwriter, arranger, record producer and pastor, Andraé Crouch, who is considered "the father of modern gospel music." This was one of the last music videos that Andraé Crouch performed in before he passed. Marc Bennett is committed to art and film as visual languages that can entertain, inspire, educate and enlighten, as well as be vehicles for positive change and philanthropy worldwide. He is a member of the Directors Guild of America.