Director Biography – Jeremy Benning (FOOTSTEPS)

Jeremy Benning is a Toronto-based cinematographer with 25 years in the industry. He is currently known for his work on the Amazon Original series “The Expanse”. He one of the few cinematographers with the versatility to shoot films, television, commercials, documentaries; with shows that have aired on Netflix, Amazon Prime, BBC, Discovery, National Geographic, History Channel and in festivals around the world. Jeremy workded for over sixteen years as a steadicam operator, and was an early adopter of digital capture technologies. Long before he shot motion pictures he created candid street photo essays—as early as age 11, in fact. He has garnered multiple awards for his cinematography, including the Canadian Society of Cinematographers, Canadian Screen Awards and American Society of Cinematographers.

Director Statement

This film is incredibly personal for me.

I first met Andy Malcolm in 1990. My parents arranged a surprise visit to Film House in Toronto for my 16th birthday, as I had a keen interest in photography and sound at that age. I had seen the classic 1979 film Andy made called “Track Stars: The Unsung Heroes of Movie Sound” on TVOntario as a kid, and had become fascinated with the concept of Foley and sound effects in general. Over a few years back in those days, I would visit Andy and his team and hang out to watch them work. I’d sit quietly in the dark at the back of his Foley stage and watch Andy perform to a 35mm projection of the films they’d be working on. Sometimes I would even help out, and dabbled in Foley myself at times on my own student films.

I would end up becoming a cinematographer as an adult; but never lost interest in sound.I’d heard later that Andy had moved to a rural property an hour north of the city in the early 2000’s. We reconnected a few years ago (after 25 years!). After visiting their studios, I was struck with the idea of capturing some of their philosophies of Foley that I’d been introduced to as a wide-eyed teenager.

Jeremy Benning
Director/Cinematographer