Ben Caldwell (filmmaker)

A native of New Mexico, Ben Caldwell was first introduced to the visual arts at an early age. As a youth, Caldwell would help his grandfather project movies at a small theater in New Mexico. Working with his grandfather allowed Caldwell to develop an affinity for filmmaking. His early exposure to film inspired him to pursue an education and a career in filmmaking. Working with his grandfather was not the inspiration that pushed Caldwell into filmmaking. During his childhood, war movies were very popular and they peaked young Caldwell's fascination. While enrolled in a two-year animation course under the Disney company, Caldwell was drafted and sent to Vietnam. Caldwell decided to buy a camera while in Japan so that he could photograph his counterparts in the military and document what soldiers faced in the Vietnam War. He has hundreds of pictures which he may or may not incorporate into a future project about war and the soldiers that suffer from combat. Taking pictures while in the military not only allowed Caldwell to document one aspect of the war, but it also gave him the opportunity to familiarize himself with the camera. After serving his time in the military, Caldwell then enrolled in courses at Phoenix College in Arizona studying photography and other forms of media. After collaborating with other students and professors, Caldwell was encouraged to pursue an M.F.A in film. Professors at Phoenix noticed that Caldwell was attempting to tell stories with his still photography and suggested that he look into studying film. Caldwell then applied and was accepted into many different Masters programs, and decided to attend UCLA. Caldwell studied filmmaking at UCLA, receiving his M.F.A in 1976. He studied film alongside Charles Burnett, Julie Dash and Billy Woodberry, as part of a group of young artists who were to change African American independent filmmaking — a cultural phenomenon sometimes called "The L.A. Rebellion." Caldwell contributed largely to the L.A. Rebellion Movement creating films that focused on black culture in Los Angeles, California. The idea of black film students attending UCLA was not embraced by everyone. Those who opposed their presence, did not hesitate to express their deeply rooted discontent. As a result, the L. A. Rebellion was born. Black filmmakers were making their voices heard through their art. Much of their art consisted of pieces that focused on politics that effected the black community, praised black culture, and pushed for unification among the human race. When asked in an interview, Ben Caldwell stated that the L. A. Rebellion set out to “emancipate the image” of black people. While studying film at UCLA, Caldwell produced, wrote, directed, filmed, and edited his most revered piece “Madea." This film explores the development of a child's mind during gestation. At the time that he wrote this piece, Caldwell was entertaining the possibility of there being another Earth in a parallel universe. When he was attending school in Arizona, Caldwell created a still photography piece which equated the black woman's body to Earth. Once he began studying film, Caldwell adapted his still photography project into the short film. Over the course of his career, Caldwell has made other experimental shorts such as "I & I: An African Allegory" and "Water Ritual #1: An Urban Rite of Purification," which would fall under the category of Experimental Documentary. The shorts that he has written and/or worked on have focused on social issues that directly effect the black community. In a time when Blaxploitation dominated the black film industry, Caldwell and other black visionaries had different stories to tell. ==Career==