bencooper

[bencooper]

Ben is a filmmaker, freelance editor, and documentary archival researcher based in New York City. A graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts with a double-major in Film and History, he received departmental honors for excellence in editing. His editing portfolio includes scripted, nonfiction, and experimental work, as well as music videos, video installations, and PSAs, and has been featured in the American Documentary and Animation Film Festival and New York Latino Film Festival, among others.

He has worked as an Archival Producer, Archival Researcher, Assistant Editor, and Post PA on numerous documentary projects, including from Academy Award-Winner Barbara Kopple, Alex Gibney's Jigsaw Productions, Stick Figure Productions, Skylight Pictures, and Armian Pictures, with distribution from HBO, Paramount+, and more. 

He lives on the Upper West Side with his partner and frequent collaborator Payton McCarty-Simas, and his cat, Shirley Jackson.

[bencooper]

Editing Reel 2023

https://vimeo.com/852442367

[bencooper]

The Diary of Eva Braun (2023) - 10 min. 

In post-production

Co-director, co-editor

[bencooper]

Untitled Burning Man Project (TBD - The Othrs)

Archival Researcher

[bencooper]

2022 in Film (2023) - 3 min.

Co-editor

Multiverses, mad conductors, and Art The Clown–– A look back on the films of 2022 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfyFku9NF9A

[bencooper]

Gumbo Coalition (2022, dir. Barbara Kopple) - 1 hr, 48 min. 

Post intern

Driven by a mutual determination not to be “the generation that allows progress to slip,” national social justice leaders Marc Morial of National Urban League and Janet Murguía of UnidosUS join forces to fight structural racism amid a troubling resurgence of white supremacy in the Trump era. Two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple takes a vérité approach to examine the experiences that have shaped Morial and Murguía into leaders of their diverse African American and Latinx American communities as they navigate the complex arc of racial justice in the pandemic years.

https://www.docnyc.net/film/gumbo-coalition/

[bencooper]

Winnie Plays The National (2022) - 3 min. 

In a coda to Super Flower Blood Moon Eclipse, Winnie plays "Gospel" by The National during an afternoon rainstorm.   

Director, editor.

https://vimeo.com/776299744

[bencooper]

Super Flower Blood Moon Eclipse (2022) - 13 min.

Co-director, co-editor

On the eve of a rare lunar eclipse, 4th-generation farmer and self-described “gay hick” Brenna Hanson leads a group of friends on a surreal journey of discovery through the abandoned farms of exurban Maryland.

https://vimeo.com/741939630

[bencooper]

Pacific Park Ballet (2022) - 4 min.

Assistant Editor 

A retro, experimental portrait of the sights, sounds, and vibes at the Santa Monica Pier on a cloudy Thursday in May. Shot on tape.

https://vimeo.com/713034909

[bencooper]

Are All Artists Mystics? (2022, 43 min)

A collaborative dance and video project for Madi O’Halloran’s dance thesis on queer nightlife and worldmaking at the Barnard Movement Lab. Performed on April 7th, 2022. 

Installation video directed and edited with Payton McCarty-Simas. 

Installation selects: https://vimeo.com/699622070/f94e7379a3

Full performance recording: https://vimeo.com/699602084/b59c1b8eb2

[bencooper]

The King and I (2021, dir. Iyare Osarogiagbon)

Associate Producer

Coming soon.

[bencooper]

En sus manos (2021, dir. Elle Rose Rinaldi) - 16 min. 

Co-editor

A lyrical portrait of three generations of women in the Cuban circus. 

Official Selection: American Documentary and Animation Festival and Film Fund 2022

Coming soon.

[bencooper]

Intermission High (2021, dir. Elle Rose Rinaldi) - 5 min.

Co-editor

From the confines of their topsy-turvy home, twenty-year-old Alora dreams of something else, a distant, peaceful universe far from the griping of their four eccentric family members.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaFnYbB2DgY&ab_channel=MIIV

[bencooper]

I Like It Here (2021) - 11 min.

Director, editor 

Official selection: Columbia Arts & Astro Festival 2021 

In a half-open Alphabet City, down-and-out guitarist James links up with a visiting space alien in a grungy bricolage of misadventures, psychic voyages, and frothy confections.  👀🚀🌈🎸🖖🔥

Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcIJmNp9kY0&ab_channel=BenCooper

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GGeDSO1vF8&ab_channel=BenCooper

[bencooper]

Hold Fast (2021, dir. Gabriele Esposito-Wilcock) - 7 min.

Editor

A mother and daughter struggle as a reoccurrence of the daughter’s eating disorder comes to a head and disrupts their daily life.

Official Selection: Mystic Film Festival 2021 

https://vimeo.com/513212247 (PW: 85Lakeside)

[bencooper]

The Hennessy Hit (2021) - 7 min.

Director, editor

Following an unexpected seizure, an estranged father and daughter reconnect when she offers to build him an apple pipe for his medical marijuana.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4efq-dXTnKc&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=BenCooper

[bencooper]

Murder on Middle Beach (2020 - 2022, dir. Madison Hamburg) 

It's been 10 years since his mother's murder. When will he learn the truth?

From Jigsaw Productions and HBO Documentary Films

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2cLva3oiiM&ab_channel=HBO

Production Assistant