ARTIST BIO

Ginew Benton, Ojibway, was born in Manitoba, Canada. As of age 8 Ginew lived with the Shinnecock Nation in Southampton, Long Island, NY. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre and Multimedia Arts from Stony Brook University, Long Island, NY in 2003.

As a traditional singer/song maker and a champion grass dancer on the powwow circuit, Ginew toured with the Mystic River singers, and currently sings with world championship drum group The Boyz, out of St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN.

Ginew presently devotes the majority of his time working on film production. His first Avid Pro editing project was Crossroads, while he was attending the Ross School Media Center in East Hampton. Produced by Rez Mobb Entertainment, Crossroads, a winner of the United Nations Film Award was an independent DV documentary film short about the drug and alcohol problems facing Native American youth on the Shinnecock Reservation, in Southampton. On Crossroads, Ginew was co-director, co-camera, and co-director of photography and co-editor.

In 2002, Ginew gained technical stage experience when he worked with SUNY Stony Brook productions at the Staller Center for the Arts. He was a scenic artist, worked set construction, and was the assistant audio engineer, on various Stony Brook stage productions.

In 2003, Ginew directed, and edited The Hatrix, a DV documentary short based on The Matrix. The Hatrix was produced in part by The Black Media Foundation through the Southampton Public Schools. It addressed the duality of a media based society in the eyes of his youth film students, and was screened by the Annual Urban Visions Festival at the Museum of Television and Radio in New York City.

Ginew’s latest DV Short, Monotony (2006), was screened at the American Indian Community House, Inc. in New York City. Monotony quickly gained attention with its uniquely contemporary style depicting the adverse effect of modern society on the human spirit. Monotony can be viewed at Ginew’s myspace.com account under videos. Display name: Ginew.

Education

2002 Bachelor of Arts: Theater and Multimedia (SUNY at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY)

2001 Digital Editing: Avid Pro & DV film (Ross School Media Center, East Hampton, NY)

Awards

2003 Award of Honor: received at the commencement for the study in Theater Arts

2003 Award of High Honor: Received at the commencement for Outstanding Achievement in Media Arts

2002 United Nation Film Festival Award for "Crossroads"