ARTIST / ENTERTAINER

Benjamin Stark mashes up a love for classic cinematic craft with a possibly unhealthy obsession with multiplex-packing blockbusters.

DON'T DIE director Benjamin Stark observes a scene wearing a bright blue jacket and a plaid shirt underneath, looking to the right and listening through black headphones.
FIRST CONTACT screen capture: Actress Julie Haught is dressed as a weathered woman with serious expression, holding a cigarette near her mouth, standing at a doorway.

CREATOR / COLLABORATOR

Stark has been a visual storyteller since doodling in the kindergarten of the tiny German village where he was raised. Along the way, he’s learned to master a spreadsheet and captain a fleet, proving you can make your day and still play make-believe with your cast and crew.

ROCKET CITY SHAKEDOWN screen capture: Actor Lincoln Greer stands behind a wrought iron fence, leaning against a stone pillar, observing something. Huntsville court house is visible in the background under a clear blue sky.

SERIOUS / SLAPSTICK

Ranging from issue-minded thrillers (Don’t Die, Dead Saturday) and wacky stoner noir (Rocket City Shakedown) to kids’ adventures (The Voice of the Populists), heartfelt essays, and silly drawings, Stark will tackle any genre, in any format, as long as it promises a great ride for the audience.

ROCKET CITY SHAKEDOWN screen capture: US Space & Rocket Center, featuring a tall rocket to the right, several launch pads with rockets. There are trees and a parking lot surrounding the facility, with mountains and a wide, open sky in the background.

IMMIGRANT / AMERICAN

Being a first generation immigrant has given Stark a unique outsider’s perspective, but growing up in the South (Roll Tide) has ingrained a love of the kind of experiences that the USA does best: theme parks, comic books, and popcorn movies.

DEAD SATURDAY screen capture: A person crouching inside a church near broken glass on the floor, looking towards the open door where a silhouette of another person is visible outside in bright light.

SAINT / SCRAPPER

Stark is a believer, unafraid to probe his worldview using fake blood, lame jokes, and hard questions. Creativity, self-effacing empathy, and ruthless authenticity are the ingredients of a full life and great collaborations. Violence, chaos, treachery? Leave those on the big screen where they belong.

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A man standing in a wooded forest, dressed in vintage clothing, in black and white.
A man in a business shirt and tie walking under a large concrete overpass, with sunlight filtering through trees in the background.