McKinley Benson
Directing
Biography
McKinley Benson is an American filmmaker working across live-action and animation whose work pairs intimate character-driven stories with a strong visual sensibility, moving fluidly between mediums and genres. His work has received international recognition, including a place on the Sony Future Filmmakers Awards 2026 shortlist, alongside such honors as the Best Story Award at Animayo and the Director's Choice Award at Thomas Edison FF, both Academy Award®-qualifying festivals. With 100+ official selections (Sydney FF, Guadalajara IFF, HollyShorts, Tehran ISFF, Newport Beach FF, Kyiv IFF), 20+ festival wins and special mentions, and three Student Emmy Awards, McKinley has been highlighted by outlets such as Variety, Animation Magazine, and Cartoon Brew in their 2026 Oscar® Contenders coverage. His body of work includes narrative short films such as Two Ships, created in collaboration with the Oscar®-nominated Portuguese animation cooperative COLA, and Homestead, a horror-western set in 1870s Oregon — as well as several documentaries, television pilots, and commercials. He has also collaborated with studios such as Netflix, Amazon MGM Studios, The Walt Disney Studios, Paramount, NBCUniversal, and XYZ Films.
Known For
Set in 1870s Oregon, an obsessive carpenter relocates his pregnant wife and young daughter to an isolated land with the promise of a better life, but instead is plagued by grief and paranoia.
Homestead
Martha, a single mother and working nurse, struggles with her son leaving for college. When a mysterious woman invites Martha to a dinner party of other "empty nest" mothers, she soon realizes the gathering is not as innocent as it seems.
Martha
While working opposite schedules, a couple attempts to maintain their connection through fleeting encounters.
Two Ships
On the streets of Jakarta, an impulsive, small-time con swindles a big-time aristocrat out of house and home at risk of abandonment by his only brother.
Night and Day
On the last day of summer break in 1999, an outcast boy attempts to help a girl overcome her fear of swimming.
A Snail Can Take Down a Starfish
After the recent death of his grandmother, a young boy brings his grandfather to his usual hideout spot. In an attempt to cheer him up, the boy presents his grandfather with an opportunity to revisit a sweet memory of his late wife. The grandfather obliges the boy and travels back to his childhood at the very same hideout spot.