Obie Benz

Obie Benz (born November 3, 1949) is an American documentary filmmaker. He has created a number of charitable organizations to support social justice causes.

Obie Benz was born on November 3, 1949. He is a graduate of Berkshire School, Sheffield, Massachusetts; and Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont (B.A. English and Sociology).

In 1972, Benz, with Peter Stern, founded the Vanguard Public Foundation in San Francisco—a non-profit social justice organization focused on providing grants to social justice nonprofits. In 1974, he started Film Fund, a foundation to support and fund documentary films on social justice issues.

In 1975, Benz organized Pacific Alliance, a benefit concert production company supporting anti-nuclear power, safe energy, and American Indian treaty rights issues. Over the years, the foundation worked with several famed musicians, including Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Graham Nash, and Grateful Dead.

In the 1980s, Benz began making documentary films. In 1981, he served as an assistant producer on the documentary El Salvador: Another Vietnam. Directed by Glenn Silber and Teté Vasconcellos, the documentary analyzes the origins of the civil war in El Salvador and the US involvement in it, with reference to the prior Eastern Asia wars and America-involved conflicts in Korea and Vietnam.

In 1982, he directed a short documentary titled Americas in Transition, with narration by Ed Asner. The documentary challenged US foreign policy in Latin America and was nominated for an Academy Award for "Best Documentary Short" in 1981.

Benz made two anti-weapons music videos which John Denver used as a backdrop in concert performances.

Music video: Raven's Child by John Denver

In 1989, Benz and Joshua Waletzky directed the documentary Heavy Petting, a comedy about teen sexuality with clips assorted from various educational films, weekly news, and feature film scenes from the 1950s. It featured many celebrities including David Byrne, Sandra Bernhard, Frances Fisher, and Laurie Anderson.

In 1995, Benz produced and directed the episode "In My Generation" (aired on 10 April 1995) of Time Life/Warner Bros. TV series The History of Rock 'n' Roll. Narrated by Gary Busey, it referenced many of the top names in rock, including Joan Baez, Bono, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, David Crosby, and Arlo Guthrie. The episode was the best-performing piece of the series.

In the 1990s, Benz worked for Amnesty International, making several short films about people and organizations supporting human rights issues.

In 2003, he produced a documentary on yoga titled Ashtanga, NY. Directed by Caroline Laskow and Mary Wigmore, it featured Willem Dafoe, Donna Karan, and Gwyneth Paltrow, among others.

He also produced a DVD for V-Day, an organization created by Eve Ensler, the writer of Vagina Monologues, to oppose violence against women.

Benz was an editor and contributor to Chuck Collins, Pam Rogers, and Joan P. Garner's 2000 book Robin Hood Was Right: A Guide to Giving Your Money for Social Change, which suggested ways people could support community organizing and other activist projects.

Benz was married to graphic artist Phillis Lehmer from November 8, 1992, to 2002 (divorce).

• El Salvador: Another Vietnam (1981, assistant producer)
• Americas in Transition (1982, producer)
• Heavy Petting (1989, producer)
• "My Generation" episode of The History of Rock 'n' Roll (1995, producer)
• Ashtanga, NY (2003, producer)