Benjamin Shapiro (born 1959) is an American documentary director,

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

, and independent

public radio Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

producer.

Film and television

Shapiro is producer, director, and cinematographer of the documentary '' Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters'', which follows the photographer over a decade as he creates his images. ''Brief Encounters'' premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival and is screening theatrically at festivals and on television internationally. '' The New York Times'' rated the film as a "Critics' Pick," and '' Variety'' described it as "must see." Shapiro's work as a cinematographer and producer includes projects for PBS ( American Masters, PBS Arts,

EGG An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

, The Sundance Channel, and

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

makers including Katy Chevigny, Barbara Kopple, the feature “ ''Paul Goodman Changed my Life'',” among others.

Radio

Shapiro's radio stories have been featured on such programs as NPR's All Things Considered and Morning Edition. He has been a member of Radio Diaries since the series began in 1996, as an

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

, mix engineer, and

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

. Shapiro has collaborated on projects with many producers including American Radioworks,

The Kitchen Sisters The Kitchen Sisters are Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva, who are National Public Radio radio producers in the United States. About Nelson and Silva met in 1979, in Santa Cruz, California. Silva was curating museum exhibits about local history, ...

, WNYC and the BBC.

Awards

For his work, Shapiro has received an

Emmy award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

, two

Peabody Awards The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

, and two Dupont Awards.

Teaching and publications

Shapiro has been published in the Journal of Popular Film and Television and Transom.org. He has taught at the

Columbia Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism s ...

, the New School University Graduate Media Studies program, and the

Center For Documentary Studies The Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit support corporation of Duke University dedicated to the documentary arts. Having been created in 1989 through an endowment from the Lyndhurst Foundation, The organization’s founder ...

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shapiro, Ben 1959 births Living people American film directors Place of birth missing (living people) University of Texas at Austin alumni