Nick Benjamin is a Brazilian-American writer/director, who has been experimenting with filmmaking since he was twelve years old. When he was only seventeen and a junior in high school, Nick won the award for Best Director and Best Picture at the Columbia College Hollywood summer film program for his short film HOW IT GOES DOWN (2011). Since then, Nick has written, directed and produced several personal projects, as well as many student projects during his tenure at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts.
Upon arriving at USC, Nick immediately jumped into working on a multitude of projects for undergraduate and graduate students alike. In 2018, he was a producer on several award-winning USC graduate theses including HERE AND BEYOND (2018) and SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR (2018). Nick was also a Co-Producer for the Student Academy Award nominated and multi-award-winning short film UNDER DARKNESS (2018). After graduating, he continued his journey in the world of directing by assisting acclaimed directors such as Michael Bay and Brad Peyton during all phases of production on their respective films, 6 UNDERGROUND (2019) and ATLAS (2024).
Nick's psychological thriller short film "A State Of" (2023) went on to screen at a handful of festivals, such as Screamfest Horror Film Festival, Shockfest Film Festival, & Catalina Film Festival, and garnered awards such as Best Editing, Best Medium-Length Film, and Best Short Film Director, just to name a few. In his spare time, Nick began directing music videos, including “Flashback” by Holland Greco (2022), which made its debut on national television in Nashville, and more recently "Lovesick" by Liv Belda (2024). Nick’s recent short film, UNDER, focuses on two brothers who play hide-and-seek with the monster under the bed. It is scheduled to release in October of 2024.
Taking the skills that he acquired along the way, Nick is now focusing on writing and directing compelling and captivating stories of his own that encompass themes that look "outside the box.” His hope is to subtly tackle important social issues, including mental health and childhood trauma, in some of his favorite genres including Science Fiction, Horror, and Thriller.