Ben DeJesus is an American documentary filmmaker, television director, and producer.
Life and career DeJesus was born in Trenton, New Jersey. Raised in nearby Ewing Township, New Jersey, he attended Ewing High School and studied theater and journalism at Rutgers University. After working as a stage actor, he obtained an internship at MTV, where he became an associate producer and writer on several seasons of MTV Cribs. In the early 2000s he founded Diamante Pictures and directed music videos for artists including Don Omar, Aventura, Fat Joe, and N.O.R.E..
DeJesus directed and produced the PBS documentary Tales from a Ghetto Klown (2013). He later directed Great Performances: John Leguizamo’s Road to Broadway (2018) and American Masters: Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage (2019). He also served as a producer on the Broadway production Latin History for Morons (2018) and directed episodes of the Disney Channel series Bunk’d. He co-founded the production company NGL Studios and later established Casa NoHo Studios.
In 2023, DeJesus began directing and executive producing the MSNBC series Leguizamo Does America. In 2024 he co-created and executive produced the three-part PBS series American Historia: The Untold History of Latinos.
Selected filmography YearTitle Contribution Note 2013 Tales from a Ghetto Klown Director and producer Documentary 2017–2019 Bunk’d Director 2 Episodes 2018 Great Performances: John Leguizamo’s Road to Broadway Director Documentary 2019 American Masters: Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage Director and producer Documentary2021American Masters: Lights, Camera, Acción Producer Documentary short 2023 Leguizamo Does America Director and executive producer Documentary series2024American Historia: The Untold History of Latinos Co-creator and executive producer Documentary series
Awards and nominations YearResultAwardCategoryWorkRef.2018 NominatedTony AwardsBest PlayLatin History for Morons 2019 WonImagen AwardsBest DocumentaryGreat Performances: John Leguizamo’s Road to Broadway2020 NominatedPrimetime Creative Arts Emmy AwardsOutstanding Documentary or Nonfiction SeriesAmerican Masters: Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage 2022 WonImagen AwardsBest Short FilmAmerican Masters: Lights, Camera, Acción2024 NominatedCinema Eye HonorsOutstanding Anthology SeriesLeguizamo Does America 2025 WonImagen AwardsBest Special or Television MovieAmerican Historia: The Untold History of Latinos
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