Benjamin Shapiro was born in 1959. As a teenager, Shapiro learned to play the
drums.
Radio Shapiro's radio stories have been featured on such programs as
NPR's
All Things Considered and
Morning Edition. He has been a member of Radio Diaries since the series began in 1996, as an editor,
mix engineer, and producer. Shapiro has collaborated on projects with many producers including
American Radioworks,
The Kitchen Sisters,
WNYC and the
BBC.
Film and television Shapiro is co-director/producer (with
Sam Pollard) and cinematographer of the documentary
Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes, which explores the life and career of the master drummer, bandleader, activist across seven decades. The film premiered at the 2023 South by Southwest Film Festival, and had its broadcast premiere on the
PBS series American Masters. Shapiro directed and was cinematographer of the documentary
Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters, which follows the photographer over a decade as he creates his images.
Brief Encounters premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival and is screening theatrically at
festivals and on television internationally.
The New York Times rated the film as a "Critics' Pick," and
Variety described it as "must see." Shapiro's work as a cinematographer and producer includes projects for
PBS (
American Masters, PBS Arts,
EGG),
National Geographic,
The Sundance Channel, and
independent filmmakers including Katy Chevigny,
Barbara Kopple, the feature "
Paul Goodman Changed my Life," among others.
Teaching and publications Shapiro has been published in the
Journal of Popular Film and Television and Transom.org. He has taught at the
Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, the
New School University Graduate Media Studies program, and the
Center for Documentary Studies at
Duke University. == Awards ==