We were thrilled to screen The Lost City Of The Monkey God at the Laemmle Theatre in Santa Monica, CA last week. A number of our collaborators and supporters were able to attend, including (featured here R to L) explorer Steve Elkins, anthropologist

Conservation International’s Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) has identified and notated an extraordinary ecosystem rich with rare wildlife and plants surrounding the filming location of our documentary The Lost City Of The Lost Monkey God.

We are pleased to announce that our documentary The Lost City of the Monkey God will be represented by William Morris Endeavor (WME), for sale across all platforms. Under this collaboration, WME will work closely with Bill Benenson and Benenson

We are excited to announce The Lost City Of The Monkey God will be screening at the annual DC Environmental Film Festival this coming Saturday, March 16th in Washington, DC! Established in 1993, the DCEFF is the world’s largest green film

Amazon Studios has acquired Shia LeBeouf’s passion project HONEY BOY. Executive produced by Bill Benenson, Honey Boy made its world premiere on January 25 at the Sundance Film Festival, where it was screened in competition. The film follows child

We are honored that The Lost City Of The Monkey God will be screened at the 20th annual Salt Spring Film Festival. This organization’s mission is to “educate, inspire and activate our community through a Festival of independent documentary

The same Lidar technology that we used to discover the The Lost City Of The Monkey God  was recently used to find the buried city of Kweneng in South Africa. Lidar, which stands for light detection and ranging, is a remote sensing method similar to

Our expedition to the Mosquitia jungle not only inspired the documentary The Lost City Of The Monkey God, it also made us passionate about preserving that vulnerable region. So we were thrilled to hear that on November 8, 2018 the Honduran President

We’re thrilled to announce that our film The Lost City Of The Monkey God will screen at two major upcoming film festivals! The film’s world premiere is Sept 29 at the Vancouver International Film Festival and then just a week later the

“When we arrived, we found that the animals there appeared never to have seen people before. Spider monkeys gathered in the trees above us, hanging by their tails, screeching their displeasure, shaking branches and bombarding us with

For a limited time, HBO is offering free streaming access to the devastating documentary ATOMIC HOMEFRONT, Executive produced by Bill and Laurie Benenson. The film explores the impact of the U.S. government’s decision in 1942 to choose

Laurie and Bill Benenson have joined Native activist and filmmaker Cody Lucich and producer Gingger Shankar as executive producers of Akicita: The Battle Of Standing Rock. Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, the film gives

What an honor! The Library of Congress has selected Boulevard Nights as one of 25 films to be entered into the distinguished National Film Registry. Singled out for their cultural, historic and/or aesthetic importance to American cinema, other

Christmas is less than a week away, but there’s still time to give an amazing gift. Order your copy of Dirt! The Movie DVD or screening kit today, choose Priority shipping for delivery by Christmas. You can place your order here.

On Saturday November 18, A WHOLE NEW IRVING was honored as the featured showcase for Hollywood’s Indie Nights Film Festival held at Hollywood’s landmark Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. Executive Produced by Bill Benenson, the award-winning web

In July we had the honor of presenting HRH Prince Charles with a DVD copy of Dirt! The Movie. The Prince was a guest speaker at The Sustainable Food Trust‘s Harmony in Food and Farming conference, held at Landovery College, Wales. The Prince

Dr. Trond Larsen, the director of Conservation International’s Rapid Assessment Program, just published a fascinating blog post on his research team’s efforts to survey the flora and fauna in the Mosquitia Rainforest surrounding the Lost

It’s International Compost Awareness Week! What an appropriate time to talk about one of our latest films in production: Kiss The Ground (2018), a feature-length documentary exposing the lives of scientists, farmers, ranchers, activists and

As reported by Deadline, Tony award-winning actress Cynthia Erivo will play the title character of HARRIET, a feature film about the extraordinary life of abolitionist and activist Harriet Ross Tubman. Bill Benenson is executive producer, teaming

On Monday February 27, 2017, author Doug Preston and explorer/filmmaker Steve Elkins had the honor of meeting with the President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, to present him with a copy of The Lost City of the Monkey God. The book, which was

Bill Benenson arrived in Park City, Utah for the 2017 Sundance Film Festival to the news that his latest film project, Patti Cake$ had been acquired by Fox Searchlight for $9.5 million, as confirmed by Variety Magazine. Featuring Australian actress

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and a number of her Congressional colleagues hosted a Washington, D.C. screening of Robert Greenwald’s MAKING A KILLING: GUNS, GREED & THE NRA. The film’s Executive Producer Bill Benenson

Bill Benenson and Steve Elkins joined bestselling author Doug Preston at a book signing in Pasadena, CA, one of several stops on Preston’s book tour, to help promote the recently published THE LOST CITY OF THE MONKEY GOD. Tracing a series of

(L-R) Richard Martinez, Bill Benenson, Sharon Waxman , Robert Greenwald   Sharon Waxman, founder and editor-in-chief of The Wrap, hosted a GrillChat on gun violence on  Thursday, June 23rd. Flanked by Robert Greenwald, the director of Making

Deadline.com has just posted an insightful article on Making a Killing: Guns, Greed and the NRA, written by its film editor Anita Busch. The story explores the important role the documentary, executive produced by Bill and Laurie Benenson, plays in

As an executive producer of Making A Killing: Guns, Greed and the NRA, Bill Benenson and Benenson Productions are proud to support the WearOrange organization and its efforts to end to gun violence. We encourage you to join the cause and wear orange

Conservation International (CI) has recently shared a letter with Benenson Productions that was sent from Harrison Ford to President Juan Orlando Hernandez of Honduras complimenting the President’s actions in relation to our project in the

Bill Benenson has signed on as executive producer of Harriet, a feature film about the extraordinary life of Harriet Ross Tubman. Tubman recently made headlines when she was selected to be featured on the twenty dollar bill, becoming the first

Benenson Productions is thrilled to announce that Beasts of No Nation was one of 11 honorees to receive the Peabody Award in the Entertainment and Children’s category. The critically acclaimed African civil war drama was cited by the Peabody

Alec Baldwin lends his voice to what he describes as an easy but potentially life saving step in the fight against the gun industry.  Please join our own Bill and Laurie Benenson, executive producers of Making A Killing, a new documentary by Robert

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) joins Beasts of No Nation executive producer Bill Benenson and star Abraham Attah at a reception following the White House screening of the film. Bill was thrilled at the reception the film received as

On February 12 Benenson Productions joined Participant Media’s Take Part and some of the cast for a screening of Beasts of No Nation at the White House. This is the first of two posts, where Beasts of No Nation is a catalyst for impact on Red Hand

Throughout the month of January, a team of American and Honduran archaeologists began a systematic excavation of the cache discovered last February at the site originally identified during our lidar survey of 2012. Primary funding and logistical

Benenson Productions is incredibly proud that actor Idris Elba earned a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Beasts of No Nation. Elba fearlessly portrays the Commandant, a local leader of the child army, taking in

We couldn’t be more excited for the following set of nominations for Beasts of No Nation: Golden Globe Nomination: Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation SAG Awards Nominations: Outstanding Performance by a Male

Steve Elkins recently visited the staging area at Aquacate and the “lost city” site with a group of Honduran architects, engineers, military, and IHAH personnel.  Much progress is being made in preparation for the upcoming excavations

We couldn’t be more thrilled with the recent news of Beasts of No Nation’s Independent Spirit Award Nominations in the following categories: Best Feature Best Director Best Cinematography Best Male Lead Best Supporting Male Read the

According to Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos, “In the first week of release, Beasts of No Nation was the most watched movie on Netflix, in every country we operate in.” Read the full Article Here

JOURNEYMAN PICTURES SET TO RELEASE BILL BENENSON’S DOCUMENTARY THE HADZA: LAST OF THE FIRST  TODAY, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3RD; FILM EXPLORES ONE OF LAST HUNTER GATHERER GROUPS ON PLANET Alfre Woodard Narrates; Lupita Nyong’o Is Swahili Consultant

“El Dorado. Atlantis. The Lost City of Z. Legends of such fabled places have enticed generations of explorers into the most remote locations on Earth. Usually they return empty-handed, if they return at all. But sometimes the pursuit of a myth

Over an 11 day period in February, 2015, an interdisciplinary team of archaeologists and other scientists explored and documented a remote valley in the Mosquitia region of Honduras. Over the next few years, the team will be analyzing and publishing

An expedition to Honduras has emerged from the jungle with dramatic news of the discovery of a mysterious culture’s lost city, never before explored. The team was led to the remote, uninhabited region by long-standing rumors that it was the site

Archaeologists have just completed the first ground exploration of the ruins of a previously unknown city deep in the tropical rainforest of Honduras. “The team was led to the remote, uninhabited region by long-standing rumors that it was the

“Most theaters in the U.S. won’t give screen time to African war drama Beasts of No Nation, the latest film acquired by Netflix in a $12 million deal.” The film, directed by Cary Fukunaga, starring Idris Elba, and listing Bill

The New Yorker mentions Bill Benenson and one of his latest projects, Under the Lidar. “Elkins went out to raise money. He asked the filmmaker Bill Benenson, who was just completing a documentary on the Hadza people of East Africa, to

Cellphones and the Web? No, Hunting and Gathering In ‘The Hadza,’ Tanzanians Live as They Did Centuries Ago By: Anita Gates If you search for the term hunter-gatherers, you’ll probably end up reading about early human civilization,

Review: ‘Last of the First’ an academic but valuable look at Africa’s Hadza By Martin Tsai   The Hadza, people who inhabit the Lake Eyasi region of northern Tanzania, trace their lineage to the earliest known ancestors of

Read Frank Scheck’s full review of The Hadza: Last of the First on Hollywood Reporter here.

Reviewer Greg Gilman writes, “The viewing experience is ripe with wonder, as cameras give audiences a rare chance to observe the Hadza’s hunting trips, foraging methods, organic food preparation, and social interactions, which

Bill Benenson, who is currently working on a documentary about the search for a lost Pre-Columbian city in Central America using LIDAR technology, was recently awarded the prestigious Leading Global Thinkers Award from Foreign Policy magazine. Learn

Bill Benenson named Executive Producer of new film, Beasts of No Nation Directed by Cary Fukunaga and set to release in 2015. Beasts of No Nation is a drama based on the experiences of Agu, a child solider fighting in the civil war of an unnamed

In Bill Benenson’s documentary The Hadza: Last of the First, one of the world’s most ancient and traditionally self-sustaining peoples, the Hadza of Tanzania, are shown in the grip of shifting global forces. One child wears a Chieftains

Check out the Independent Lens interview with Bill and Gene Rosow here.

Mazel tov to our dedicated and wonderful Dirt! team for being an official selection for the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. The film also won several awards, including best documentary at the 2009 Visions/Voices Environmental Film Festival and “Best

Variety writer Andrew Barker reviewed Dirt! The Movie and gave a special shout-out to our fun, light, and informative animation. He notes, “clever animated sequences inject some welcome humor and visual pizzazz.” Thank you, Andrew!

As part of a series profiling directors whose films screened at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, Indiewire picks Bill and Gene’s brain on Dirt! Read the full interview here.