Benny Safdie

Director

February 24, 1986 (40 years)

New York City, New York, USA

Biography

Benjamin Safdie (born February 24, 1986) is an American filmmaker, actor, and editor best known for his collaborations with his older brother, Josh Safdie. Together, the Safdie brothers have established themselves as leading voices in contemporary independent cinema with acclaimed films such as Heaven Knows What (2014), Good Time (2017), and Uncut Gems (2019). In addition to directing, Benny has pursued a parallel career as an actor. His performance in Good Time earned him a nomination for the …

Filmography

7.2

Uncut Gems

A charismatic New York City jeweler always on the lookout for the next big score makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime. Howard must perform a precarious high-wire act, balancing business, family, and encroaching adversaries on all sides in his relentless pursuit of the ultimate win.

7.2

Good Time

After a botched bank robbery lands his younger brother in prison, Connie Nikas embarks on a twisted odyssey through New York City's underworld to get his brother Nick out of jail.

6.4

The Smashing Machine

In the late 1990s, up-and-coming mixed martial artist Mark Kerr aspires to become the greatest fighter in the world. However, he must also battle his opioid dependence and a volatile relationship with his girlfriend Dawn.

6.5

Heaven Knows What

A young heroin addict roams the streets of New York to panhandle and get her next fix, while her unstable boyfriend drifts in and out of her life at random.

6.6

Daddy Longlegs

After months of living a solitary existence, Lenny, 34, picks up his kids from school. Every year he spends a couple of weeks with his sons Sage, 9, and Frey, 7. Lenny hosts his kids within a midtown studio apartment in New York. During these two weeks, he must figure out if he wants to act as their father or be their friend. Ultimately, their trip upstate results in complete lawlessness taking over their lives.

6.5

The Black Balloon

While escorting a group of children through New York City, a harried man loses hold of a bouquet of one hundred balloons. Among them, a single black balloon drifts free, seemingly lifeless, only to revive and embark on a strange journey through the city. Searching for companionship, it drifts among the highs and lows of human life, discovering both joy and despair along the way. Conceived as a children’s tale but emerging as a surreal urban fable, The Black Balloon follows the haunting odyssey of a balloon that longs to belong.

8.0

Solid Gold

A short observational piece by Josh and Benny Safdie, Solid Gold follows a gold-painted “living statue” (performed by Benny Safdie) working the streets and subways of New York—a compact study of street performance and the struggle to be seen, featured online via NoBudge in 2013.

N/A

The Ralph Handel Story

Co-directed by Benny and Josh Safdie, this deadpan mock-documentary follows Ralph Handel, a buttoned-down office worker who spends his nights bombing on the open-mic circuit. Staged as cinéma vérité that edges into performance art—Safdie performed the disastrous sets in real clubs—the film channels Andy Kaufman’s anti-comedy and the self-reflexive diary mode of David Holzman’s Diary to sketch a sly portrait of a life quietly coming undone.

8.0

Question & Answer

The Safdie brothers go undercover to record an interview with Adam Sandler, the star of their film UNCUT GEMS.

N/A

Trophy Hunter

Trophy Hunter (2012) is a short mock-documentary created by Josh and Benny Safdie for the Turtle Conservancy. It explores the illegal wildlife trade through a satirical lens, featuring the late New York cultural icon Glenn O’Brien as he visits an eccentric Chinese collector.

6.8

Lenny Cooke

In 2001, Lenny Cooke was the most hyped high school basketball player in the country, ranked above future greats LeBron James, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Carmelo Anthony. A decade later, Lenny has never played a minute in the NBA. In this quintessentially American documentary, filmmaking brothers Joshua and Benny Safdie track the unfulfilled destiny of a man for whom superstardom was only just out of reach.

5.0

John's Gone

John sells things online, cheats off dollar stores, needs friends but settles for strangers, has roaches. He is punch drunk, not with love but something far more strange and lost. One can only say John's gone.

N/A

Toback Vs. Mailer: The Incident

Directed by Josh and Benny Safdie, this punchy short features James Toback recounting a bizarre, years-long rivalry sparked by a drunken argument with Norman Mailer over bourbon versus Scotch—an ego duel that escalates from boozy barbs to a tense Jets–Browns stare-down and a few jabs to the gut. A brisk, first-person tale of bravado, celebrity circles, and the fine line between literary legend and street-corner scuffle.

10.0

Into the Woods with Mark

A short film directed by Benny Safdie, with cinematography by Josh Safdie and produced under the Red Bucket Films collective.

6.2

Goldman v Silverman

Rod Goldman and Al Silverman are street performers who work the tourist scene of Times Square. Goldman gets no respect and Silverman is the first one to make sure of that.

10.0

The Adventures of Slater's Friend

A film crew trails Philbert Powell through his morning, from the supermarket to his job at a video store. Along the way, he crosses paths with several individuals all named “Slater.” His interactions with them raise the central question: who, among those Slaters, is his friend? The narrative unfolds across a single morning, blending encounters and identity as Philbert’s journey reveals the shifting dynamics of connection.

6.0

There's Nothing You Can Do

The Safdie brothers repurpose reality television’s vocabulary of confrontation and cramped cinematography for a miniature study of urban maladies.

N/A

Buttons

Josh & Benny Safdie, Alex Kalman, and Factory 25 present this feature-length program of found moments from the everyday—films that showcase the wonder, beauty, sadness, love, aggression and magic that goes unnoticed on the hectic streets of NYC and elsewhere.

N/A

Straight Hustle

Commissioned by Northwest Film Forum’s One-Shot program, this Safdie short trails two street hustlers working a “cold” con in downtown Seattle, observing the quick pitch, misdirection, and payoff with lean, street-level immediacy.

N/A

The Story of Charles Riverbank

This is the story of a man named Charles Riverbank, who, upon losing his home, wanders into various adventures (and a lot of dirty looks).