Redheaded Ben is a rising filmmaker from Carroll, Iowa, known for his evocative storytelling, haunting Midwestern landscapes, and unmistakable strawberry blonde hair. His work captures the quiet emotional gravity of rural life, told through a lens shaped by memory, tension, and tender realism. Ben earned his MFA in Film and Video Production from the University of Iowa, where he developed a filmmaking style rooted in restraint and sincerity. Influenced by long silences, weathered hands, and empty barns at dusk, his short films have been praised on the regional circuit for their emotional clarity and visual beauty. A major influence on Ben’s work is his creative hero, Jake Meow, a cult-favorite experimental filmmaker known for blending surrealism with social commentary. Ben credits Meow with showing him that vulnerability and oddness aren’t flaws—they’re storytelling gold. Naturally, every artist has their foil, and for Ben, that foil is Chad Baked, a hyper-stylized filmmaker from Lee’s Summit, Missouri. With a taste for neon lighting and over-the-top symbolism, Chad’s cinematic approach couldn’t be more different—and their rivalry, sometimes friendly and often ridiculous, has become the stuff of indie fest lore. Currently in post-production on his debut feature—a tender coming-of-age story set in rural Iowa—Redheaded Ben is carving out a place of his own in American cinema. Balancing homage and originality, inspiration and opposition, he remains one of the Midwest’s most watchable new voices.
