Patricia Benoit

Directing

Birthplace: Haiti

Patricia Benoit is a Haitian-American director of short and feature films. She was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and grew up in Queens, New York. Her family was forced into exile under the Duvalier dictatorship, fleeing to France before moving to the United States. She is best known for her critically acclaimed debut feature film Stones in the Sun. Benoit has received multiple awards and accolades during her career, including the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival award for Best Debut Narrative Director and the Special Jury Prize for Best Narrative Director. She has also participated in the Sundance Directors and Screenwriters Lab. In 2007, Benoit became the winner of the first Time Warner Storytelling Award. Additionally, she co-founded the Haitian Women's Program and has been an artist-in-residence at Ramapo College in New Jersey.