Ben Lewin (born 1946) is an Australian director.

Early life and education

Ben Lewin was born in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

. As a child, he emigrated with his family to

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. At the age of six, he contracted

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sym ...

which has caused him to use crutches for the rest of his life. Lewin attended the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb n ...

where he studied law. In 1971, he left his job as a barrister in Australia after being given a scholarship to study film at

National Film and Television School The National Film and Television School (NFTS) is a film, television and games school established in 1971 and based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. It is featured in the 2021 ranking by ''The Hollywood Rep ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. After school, Lewin remained in England where he worked in television.

Work in film

Lewin has since made feature films in Australia, England, France, and America. Some of his notable films are '' The Dunera Boys'' (1985), ''

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

'' (1988), '' The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish'' (1991), and '' The Sessions'' (2012), for which he also wrote the screenplay, based on an essay by Mark O'Brien. He also directed the films ''

Please Stand By ''Please Stand By'' is a 2017 American Comedy drama, comedy-drama film directed by Ben Lewin and based on the 2008 Michael Golamco#Short plays, short play of the same name by Michael Golamco, who also wrote the screenplay. The film stars Dakota ...

'' (2017), '' The Catcher Was a Spy'' (2018) and ''

Falling for Figaro ''Falling for Figaro'' is a 2021 romantic comedy film written and directed by Ben Lewin, and starring Joanna Lumley, Danielle Macdonald and Hugh Skinner. The film was screened in the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival's Industry Selects f ...

'' (2021).Brent Lang
"IFC Films Buys ‘Falling for Figaro,’ Rom-Com With Joanna Lumley, Danielle Macdonald"
'' Variety'', 7 December 2020.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewin, Ben 1946 births Australian Jews Australian people of Polish-Jewish descent Polish emigrants to Australia American film directors Australian film directors Living people Melbourne Law School alumni People from Melbourne Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom Australian emigrants to England Alumni of the National Film and Television School