Ben Caldwell (filmmaker)

Ben Caldwell (1945) is a Los Angeles-based arts educator and independent filmmaker.

Caldwell developed an affinity for film helping his grandfather, a projector, at a small theater in New Mexico. After serving in Vietnam, Caldwell he studied photography and other media, followed by an M.F.A in film. Caldwell studied filmmaking at UCLA, alongside a group of young African American independent filmmakers known as The L.A. Rebellion." Caldwell contributed largely to the L.A. Rebellion Movement creating films that focused on black culture in Los Angeles, California. At UCLA, Caldwell produced, wrote, directed, filmed, and edited his most revered piece “Madea." Caldwell taught several years at CalArts and became a major force in CAP (Community Arts Partnership). In 1984, he founded KAOS Network, a community arts center in L.A,'s Leimert Park providing training on digital arts, media arts and multi-media.