★★★★★ "Masterful feature film debut."Empire
★★★★★ "A heart-wrenching instant classic." Screenrealm
★★★★ "Few will remain unmoved." Time Out
★★★★ "Powerful and poetic" Flicks
★★★★ "Hugo Weaving is note-perfect." Artshub
“A landmark performance by Hugo Weaving” The Sydney Morning Herald
“Sensitive and affecting. An impressive narrative feature debut” Variety
"Lawrence proves himself a very able director of actors" Hollywood Reporter
“Poignant and morally complex. An intimate film tackling an expansive subject.” Screen International
“Handles a complex emotional issue with empathy and compassion" Roger Ebert
HEARTS AND BONES
A war correspondent. A Survivor. And a photograph that threatens to destroy them.
DIRECTOR: Ben Lawrence SCREENPLAY: Beatrix Christian & Ben Lawrence PRODUCER: Matt Reeder CO-PRODUCER: Shannon Wilson-McClinton EDITOR: Phil Horn DOP: Hugh Miller ORIGINAL MUSIC: Rafael May CASTING: Gemma Brown & Kirsty MacGregor PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Carlo Crescini DISTRIBUTION: Venturas Gravitas/ Madman/ STAN
"A breathtaking achievement. Lawrence’s documentary is simply remarkable"
★★★★ The Sydney Morning Herald
"The most moving and unexpected journey”
★★★★ Margaret Pomeranz
GHOSTHUNTER
A suburban paranormal investigator delves into his past and is forced to confront his very own demons.
WRITER/ DIRECTOR: Ben Lawrence PRODUCER: Rebecca Bennett EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Margie Bryant CO-PRODUCER: Paula Jensen EDITOR: Karen Johnson DOP: Hugh Miller ORIGINAL MUSIC: Rafael May SOCIAL IMPACT PRODUCER: Jackie Turnure DISTRIBUTION: Madman/ SBS
ITHAKA
This feature documentary follows the family of Julian Assange and their fight to set him free.
★★★★★ Margaret Pomeranz
"Unflinching” Financial Times, UK
★★★★ The Sydney Morning Herald
★★★★ Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
★★★★ “Superb” The Age
"Ithaka is yet another sign that Ben Lawrence is one of the great modern Australian filmmakers of our time." The Curb
★★★★★ “A masterful piece of filmmaking." Dirty Movies
WRITER/ DIRECTOR: Ben Lawrence PRODUCER: Gabriel Shipton, Adrian Devant EDITOR: Karen Johnson DOP: Niels Lagefoged ORIGINAL MUSIC: Brian Eno IMPACT PRODUCER: Leeanne Torpey PRODUCTION COMPANY: Shipton House DISTRIBUTION: Bonsai/ Madman/ ABC/ Alamo Draft House/ Bullfrog Films/ ITV
2026 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award winner for Best Direction in Nonfiction Television.
Ben Lawrence is a writer/ director whose feature films have screened at Toronto, Busan, Sydney, Edinburgh, Sheffield, DocNYC, Palm Springs, Sitges, Melbourne and opened the Barcelona & Berlin Human Rights Film Festivals.
He is a Walkley Documentary Award nominee and four-time Australian Writers Guild Best Writer Award winner across feature film, documentary and podcast categories.
He is the recipient of the The Sydney Film Festival Documentary Award, The Amnesty International Film Award and Best International Director at DocEdge Festival and he was awarded the Australian Directors Guild Best Direction of a Feature Film Award and the Australian Writers Guild Best Screenplay Award for his debut feature film, Hearts and Bones, which starred Hugo Weaving and premiered at TIFF.
THE PEOPLE VS. ROBODEBT
★★★★★ “Television critics like to throw around the phrase ‘compulsory viewing’ but rarely has it been more fitting than it is here.” The Age/ The Sydney Morning Herald
This TV documentary series is an emotionally charged political thriller that unflinchingly exposes the devastating human cost of a cruel and illegal welfare scheme, and the brave Australians who stood up to fight it.
DIRECTOR: Ben Lawrence WRITER: Jane Allen PRODUCER: Serena Faber-Nelson SERIES/ POST PRODUCER: Olivia Hoopman EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Paula Bycroft, Michael Cordell & Andrew Farrell DOP: Simon Morris EDITOR: Rachel Grierson- Johns, Gretchen Peterson, Peter Crombie PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Andrew Raymond CASTING: Anousha Zarkesh ORIGINAL MUSIC: Helena Czajka COMMISSIONING NETWORK: SBS