Writer, film director and composer Benh zeitlin, was born on October 14, 1982 in Sunnyside (Quenns – New York), in the United States. He later lived in Westchester County, where he attended Hastings-on-Hudson High School.
Her parents Steve Zeitlin and Amanda Dargan are both urban folklorists, founders of the highly respected non-profit organization City Lore in New York.
He began his career at the tender age of 6 when together with a friend they made a home movie about the character of Batman.
He continued to make films throughout his childhood and adolescence, which led him to study Film at Wesleyan University. After graduation, he spent a year in the city of Prague, working for a prominent animation artist.
Back in the United States, he worked at a private school in Manhattan, teaching short film making to elementary school students.
His first professional works, which Benh wrote and directed, were animated short films “Egg“(2005) and”The Origins of Electricity“(2005). In 2008 he moved to New Orleans to shoot the short film”Glory at Sea“After Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the city of Louisiana. The short, for which Zeitlin composed the music, won nine awards at different festivals.
Already in 2012, Zeitlin released his first feature film that he wrote and directed, in addition to composing its soundtrack. “Savage South beasts“, starring little Quvenzhané Wallis, was nominated for Oscars in the categories Best Director, Best Film, Best Screenplay and Best Actress for newcomer Quvenzhané Wallis. The film won 61 national and international awards, including the prestigious Camera d ‘Or of the Cannes Festival; in addition to multiple nominations.