
Directing
Benny Safdie
Born 1986-02-24 · New York City, New York, USA
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 Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. He has since appeared in high-profile films including Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza (2021), Kelly Fremon Craig’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (2023), and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer (2023). On television, he co-created, co-wrote, and starred alongside Nathan Fielder and Emma Stone in the Showtime series The Curse (2023).
Acting credits
8.0Odysseus, the legendary King of Ithaca, embarks on a long and perilous journey home following the Trojan War. Throughout his voyage, he is forced to confront the whims of gods, mythological monsters, and trials that stretch both his cunning and his humanity to the breaking point.
The Odyssey
2026
8.2Having thwarted Bowser's previous plot to marry Princess Peach, Mario and Luigi now face a fresh threat in Bowser Jr., who is determined to liberate his father from captivity and restore the family legacy. Alongside companions new and old, the brothers travel across the stars to stop the young heir's crusade.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
2026
8.0The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.
Oppenheimer
2023
7.2After 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.
Good Time
2017
6.9The story of Gary Valentine and Alana Kane growing up, running around and going through the treacherous navigation of first love in the San Fernando Valley, 1973.
Licorice Pizza
2021
6.5Happy Gilmore isn't done with golf — not by a long shot. Since his retirement after his first Tour Championship win, Gilmore returns to finance his daughter's ballet classes.
Happy Gilmore 2
2025
7.1When her family moves from New York City to New Jersey, an 11-year-old girl navigates new friends, feelings, and the beginning of adolescence.
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
2023
6.4Go behind the scenes of Christopher Nolan's mythic action epic, The Odyssey. This special documentary explores the monumental undertaking of adapting Homer’s foundational saga for the big screen, charting a grueling 91-day principal photography schedule across six countries. From the revolutionary use of brand-new IMAX film technology to the massive coordination of over 5,300 custom-designed costumes, discover how a star-studded cast led by Matt Damon, Tom Holland, and Anne Hathaway brought the dangerous, timeless world of ancient Greek gods and monsters to life.
The Odyssey: The Making of an Epic
2026
7.0When a young mother's home birth ends in unfathomable tragedy, she begins a year-long odyssey of mourning that fractures relationships with loved ones in this deeply personal story of a woman learning to live alongside her loss.
Pieces of a Woman
2020
5.8In present-day Nicaragua, a headstrong American journalist and a mysterious English businessman strike up a romance as they become embroiled in a dangerous labyrinth of lies and conspiracies and are forced to try and escape the country.
Stars at Noon
2022
NRThe group & their respective partners travel to Europe to spread their close friend's ashes & prove that they can still be fun — even in their 60s.
Grown Ups 3
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8.0The Safdie brothers go undercover to record an interview with Adam Sandler, the star of their film UNCUT GEMS.
Question & Answer
2020
5.6A maddeningly oblivious, tyrannical and emotionally stunted young woman tries her best to negotiate two toxic friendships.
Yeast
2008
7.0Get to know the siblings whose films have captured the skittering pulse of New York’s city streets. An original documentary featuring footage from the making of their new thriller, Good Time, along with several of the brothers’ early features and shorts. Produced by the Criterion Channel for their "Meet the Filmmakers" series.
Meet the Filmmakers: Josh and Benny Safdie
2017
5.2Follows a variety of New York characters as they navigate personal relationships and unexpected problems over the course of one day.
Person to Person
2017
6.5A 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.
Solid Gold
2013
6.0A behind the scenes look at Uncut Gems (2019) by the Safdie Brothers with interviews from the cast and more.
Money on the Street: The Making of Uncut Gems
2020
10.0A 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.
The Adventures of Slater's Friend
2005
NRA 3-minute short film directed and edited by Benny Safdie, featuring Cassie Seale, Daniel S. Callahan, and Safdie himself.
What To Do When Choking
2007
NRThis is the story of a man named Charles Riverbank, who, upon losing his home, wanders into various adventures (and a lot of dirty looks).
The Story of Charles Riverbank
2008
NRThe story behind the acclaimed film, "Heaven Knows What," directed by Josh and Benny Safdie, and inspired by the life of Arielle Holmes.
A Hot Two Weeks: The Making of Heaven Knows What
2015
NRCo-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.
The Ralph Handel Story
2006
6.2Rod 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.
Goldman v Silverman
2020
6.0The Safdie brothers repurpose reality television’s vocabulary of confrontation and cramped cinematography for a miniature study of urban maladies.
There's Nothing You Can Do
2008
Behind the camera
7.2A 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.
Uncut Gems
2019
7.2A 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.
Uncut Gems
2019
7.2After 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.
Good Time
2017
6.4In 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.
The Smashing Machine
2025
6.4In 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.
The Smashing Machine
2025
6.5A 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.
Heaven Knows What
2015
6.6After 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.
Daddy Longlegs
2010
6.6After 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.
Daddy Longlegs
2010
8.0The Safdie brothers go undercover to record an interview with Adam Sandler, the star of their film UNCUT GEMS.
Question & Answer
2020
8.0The Safdie brothers go undercover to record an interview with Adam Sandler, the star of their film UNCUT GEMS.
Question & Answer
2020
5.7A teenage cartoonist rejects the comforts of his suburban life in a misguided quest for soul.
Funny Pages
2022
6.0Trophy 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.
Trophy Hunter
2012
6.0Trophy 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.
Trophy Hunter
2012
When a boy left to his own devices stumbles upon a secret late-night broadcast of lizards playing otherworldly music, a hidden door to the extraordinary swings open. His search for answers leads him to the eccentric and whimsical Chicken Man and his beloved companion, a seventy-year-old chicken named Claudia—two kindred spirits who have also glimpsed the impossible. United by this shared vision, they set off on an adventure that begins as a hunt for a hidden society but blossoms into something far greater: a voyage through invisible worlds, unexpected harmonies, and the unbreakable bond between lost souls who discover magic not only in what they find, but in each other.
Lizard Music
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When a boy left to his own devices stumbles upon a secret late-night broadcast of lizards playing otherworldly music, a hidden door to the extraordinary swings open. His search for answers leads him to the eccentric and whimsical Chicken Man and his beloved companion, a seventy-year-old chicken named Claudia—two kindred spirits who have also glimpsed the impossible. United by this shared vision, they set off on an adventure that begins as a hunt for a hidden society but blossoms into something far greater: a voyage through invisible worlds, unexpected harmonies, and the unbreakable bond between lost souls who discover magic not only in what they find, but in each other.
Lizard Music
—
When a boy left to his own devices stumbles upon a secret late-night broadcast of lizards playing otherworldly music, a hidden door to the extraordinary swings open. His search for answers leads him to the eccentric and whimsical Chicken Man and his beloved companion, a seventy-year-old chicken named Claudia—two kindred spirits who have also glimpsed the impossible. United by this shared vision, they set off on an adventure that begins as a hunt for a hidden society but blossoms into something far greater: a voyage through invisible worlds, unexpected harmonies, and the unbreakable bond between lost souls who discover magic not only in what they find, but in each other.
Lizard Music
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6.0Commissioned by fashion label Vena Cava, Josh Safdie’s short replaces a runway show with an eerie, late-1970s Los Angeles-inspired tale about a women’s cult; it premiered online in November 2012.
Heartland
2012
NRCommissioned 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.
Straight Hustle
2011
NRCommissioned 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.
Straight Hustle
2011
NRA short film by Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie, & Alex Kalman.
Gone Tomorrow
2015
6.5A 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.
Solid Gold
2013
NRJosh & 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.
Buttons
2011
6.8In 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.
Lenny Cooke
2013
10.0A 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.
The Adventures of Slater's Friend
2005