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Joe Bender

Joe Bender

Cinematographer and producer

Joe Bender is an award-winning producer and Director of Photography whose work spans all aspects of creative documentary. He most recently produced the animated feature documentary The Conspiracy. As DP, his recent work includes The Conspiracy (DOC NYC 2022), Catching the Killer Nurse (Netflix), and Persona (CNN Films). He shot and produced The Truth About Killer Robots (HBO), and filmed The Candidates, which premiered at DOC NYC. He produced the Sundance award-winning Our New President (2018) and was named among DOC NYC's 40 under 40 (2018). Other recent work as Director of Photography appears in documentary films and series for Netflix, HBO, National Geographic, and PBS, among others. He holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Read more

Biography from IMDb.

Works as
Cinematographer and producer
Titles
4 on MovieCove · 10 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 64 days to Oct 27

What are Joe Bender's films like?

Across a limited sample of 4 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Society.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
30%
Society
24%
Ideas
19%
Power
11%
Self
8%
Survival
7%

What they feel like to watch

their average across 4 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Dark: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their dark movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 0 · Serious 2 · Dark 2

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 3 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 2 · Intense 2

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 3 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

A split, not a type: Casual 1 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 2

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

A split, not a type: Resolved 2 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings shown from 5 titles

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
3
Cold
3
Contemplative
3
Dread
2
Absurd
1

How their films linger

Thought-provoking4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Joe Bender's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 4 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on HBO Max (2).

Subscription and free streaming for Joe Bender's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

10 credits, 4 with a MovieCove page.

  • Being Still (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    Director

  • Calico Rebellion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Cinematographer

  • The Conspiracy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Cinematographer

  • Capturing the Killer Nurse(2022)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • Persona: The Dark Truth Behind Personality Tests(2021)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films

  • The Candidates (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Cinematographer

  • The Truth About Killer Robots(2018)

    Cinematographer · Producer

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films

  • Our New President(2018)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • Our New President (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Producer

  • Clínica de Migrantes: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Cinematographer

Career shape

A full career of 9 titles from 2016 to 2026.

Highest rated

Capturing the Killer Nurse (2022)

Midcredits 56th

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing1 of 9: 1 only directing, 0 with another roleProducing3 of 9: 2 only producing, 1 with another roleCinematography6 of 9: 5 only cinematography, 1 with another role

By decade

2010s5 · crew2020s4 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it.

How do Joe Bender's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 45th percentile, the median of all 4; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 52nd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

52ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Approval · how many liked their films

36thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Reach · how many have seen their films

47thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Midcredits score across 4 titles, by percentile

  • 50th to 74th2
  • 25th to 49th2

Shape of the crowd

2 of their 4 titles are Mixed.

  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser1
  • Mixed2

Most divisive · producer

Our New President (2018)

70th percentile spread · 27% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · cinematographer

Capturing the Killer Nurse (2022)

Midcredits 56th · 48% liked

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Joe Bender work with?

People who share at least 2 of Joe Bender's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Tim Travers Hawkins shares the most, 2.

Directors

Composers