Ben Fee
“It’s not just the things you see, but the way you see them,” says Ben Fee, the newest member of The Masses’ family. Ben’s passion for visual storytelling emerges in eye-popping tableaus of color and motion. Famed both for his unique vision and his penchant for jumping off tall objects, Ben brings an exciting new perspective to The Masses.
Crafting videos both whimsical and wild, Ben has garnered attention for his eclectic sense of style. Ben’s goal is “to bring light to things so people can see how strange, how colorful they are.” From Iceland, to Thailand, to his own backyard, Ben has crafted soulful and surreal meditations on the vibrancy of life. “People forget that beautiful things are right in front of them,” he says. In Portland, he started Bar Bar Apartment Sessions, a takeaway concert series filmed in an apartment and small bus. Using live performances and the simple setting, Ben created intimate and luminous portraits of artists and their music. The project features artists like The Head and The Heart and Seabear, and within three months, it had accumulated sixty videos and significant media attention.
His videos also feature surreality and magic. In Quiet Life’s “Cave Country/No Surprise,” a couple hit the road and slowly shed all of their possessions, reveling in the coming of fall. Ben’s also hard at work on his first feature, Albert & Eliza. Directly inspired by Ben’s travels and experiences, he aims to create a film that’s “tangible and real.” Shot in Iceland, the film features stunning, dreamlike visuals, and follows one woman’s amnesia and the elaborate past her best friend weaves for her.
Ben got his start through commercial and writing work. He met Hunter S. Thompson while living in the ranching community of Woody Creek and became his writing assistant and cinematographer. Later, he collaborated with Academy Award-winning Alex Gibney for his documentary, Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, as well as his yet to be completed project about Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters. When Hurricane Katrina struck, Ben worked with Douglas Brinkley (The Great Deluge) to research and photograph New Orleans in the wake of the disaster.
At the same time, Ben gained notoriety through his offbeat commercials. Featuring everything from skateboarding horses for MTV to split-framed dancers for Nikita, Ben proved himself adept at creating intriguing visuals. For work with Nikita Clothing and Snowboarder magazine, Ben traveled the world, merging his own offbeat style with his passion for travel and storytelling.
Ben came to The Masses through his works’ travels, meeting director Börkur abroad. His diverse background and cinematic style matched with his passion for collaboration make him an ideal fit, and we look forward to seeing what he comes up with next.