
Bentley Brown
Directing
Biography
Bentley Brown is a filmmaker whose work revolves around transnational identity and belonging. He holds a PhD in Emergent Technologies and Media Arts Practices from the University of Colorado - Boulder.
Known For

Majid fights his own coach for Faiza's heart and the dream of playing international football.
Captain Majid

Nawaf, a high-school graduate in Saudi Arabia is under pressure to pick a college major. While everyone tells him what they think is best for him, he roams the city in search for an answer of his own.
The Great Muse

Set in 1987, a young black Saudi man attempts to impress a girl by mimicking the music video of Crown, an iconic singer from that time.
VHS Tape Replaced

Working underground in the year before the legalization of cinema in Saudi Arabia, a team of mostly women makes its first feature film. Anonymous accounts of their experience are brought together in a melancholic narration. In the spirit of first films, a filmmaker documents the production in Jeddah with his first video camera from childhood.
First Feature

A young writer roams the streets of Jeddah in search of an ending to his novel about parallel worlds.
The Physical Properties of Coffee
A young Chadian goes to Lybia to seek his fortune, but comes home empty handed.
Your Manners Are Behind You

Through metaphor, biography and stunning NASA footage, filmmaker Bentley Brown presents us with a very personal filmic essay that explores a failed relationship and sweeping societal changes in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Hot Docs)
Behind the Sun

After the death of his Arabic teacher, an American-born filmmaker in the northern African country of Chad revisits home videos to explore the moment they started making movies together.
Oustaz

When he makes a mistake that sends his family into a financial crunch, Faisal abandons his dreams of American university to work on a chicken farm.
Faisal Goes West

Severe drought in Chad is the context for this exploration of climate emergency told through immersive sound and visceral thirst. Severe drought in Chad is the context for this exploration of climate emergency told through immersive sound and visceral thirst.
Guardian of the Well

Sudanese-American poets and musicians engage in performances and a conversation around third culture identity and the revolution in Sudan, from which they have been physically cut off.
Revolution from Afar

Residents of Tripoli, Lebanon, reckon with the legacy of an abandoned architectural monstrosity.
Black Mouse

Seaside fireworks, a march to the US-Iran game, and Souk Waqif festivities all make up a series of vignettes from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Meanwhile, an attendee ponders the event's significance amid a shifting of the world's centers of power.