Originally from London, Ben is passionate about short form storytelling and introducing short films to new audiences.

After a stint in London, Ben moved to the US and settled in New York. There he joined the team at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival, one of the world’s top tier festivals – rising up the ranks to become their Short Film Programmer, and recently to be Tribeca’s Vice President of Shorts Programming.

When he isn’t programming short films, he’s making them, including the multi-award winning Yellow Balloon, which was selected as part of the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection.

Ben is passionate for giving a platform to Welsh voices and stories and Heart Valley, a film shot locally in Ceredigion, won the short documentary category at Tribeca in 2022.

Ben also spent several years working in the United Arab Emirates at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, and has acted as a programming consultant for many other festivals.

Ben is fascinated by new voices and stories from different cultures and languages, and regularly travels to search out new stories from around the world.

Thanks to Ben’s generosity, and the support of his colleagues at Tribeca, Aberystwyth’s Department of Theatre, Film & Television Studies, has been able to send groups of students out to New York to experience the festival. They’ve attended world premieres and masterclasses with familiar names including Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, Jennifer Lawrence, Scarlett Johansson, and Whoopi Goldberg.

These are genuinely inspirational and transformative experiences for Aberystwyth students.

Ben has also shared his expertise with students at Aberystwyth on numerous occasions, giving tips and insights into film festival submissions and strategies.

“I don’t think you really realise how much university really shapes who you are and who you will become. It really gets inside you and it’s such an important stage of your life.”