Throughout the year, the Beyond the Cut live discussion series has featured influential artists from the realms of film, art, and culture.

Beyond the Cut celebrates storytelling perspectives of these creatives, which have included film directors Shaka King (“Newlyweds”, “Mulignans”) and Nikyatu Jusu (“Flowers”, “Free the Town”), examining their career journeys with an emphasis on how live audience members can learn from and share these stories. And just as passionately, it has shed a continuous light on the contributions of African-American influencers who live or work in and around the arts enclave of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn focusing on the impact their work has on the world and their community, where the series producer, The Luminal Theater, is working to establish a full-time microcinema dedicated to African diaspora cinema in the immediate future.

This Saturday, Beyond The Cut features multi-hyphenate creative Ephraim “Fetti” Benton. Benton’s work in the arts as an actor and producer are only matched by his devotion as a community leader, entrepreneur, and father. Having appeared in award-winning & critically noteworthy films such as “Precious,” “Gun Hill Road”, “The Place Beyond The Pines” and Lisa France’s “Anne B. Real,” Ephraim was the lead in Rik Cordero’s “Inside A Change” as Chris Price, a teenager forced to reexamine his life and bring his crumbling family together for his mom’s birthday.

Benton is constantly developing his own projects, and has already produced, executive produced, written, directed and starred in multiple films, including “Brown Paper Bags,” “3 Quarters of Face Value,” and the recent gentrification-themed drama “Dope Fiend,” recently featured on S&A.

In addition to creating Daddy Daughter Publishing with his young daughter, Ephraim has used his life experience to give back to the Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn community with the annual Daddy Children’s Day, The Bed-Stuy Community Youth & Cultural Fair, and the Chillin On Da Corner & Beyond Film Series.

For a taste of Ephraim’s older work, check out his reel below.

This event discussion is free, and you can RSVP on The Luminal’s website to join the live audience this Saturday at 1pm the Magnolia Tree Earth Center in Brooklyn. You can also submit questions in advance by contacting The Luminal Theater on Twitter – @LuminalTheater — just also enter the #BeyondTheCut hashtag.

Ephraim Benton

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