Ben Balcom is a filmmaker currently living and working in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and is the co-founder and co-programmer of Microlights Cinema. Since 2013, Microlights has hosted over 50 film and video artists from around the world. Combining elements of documentary, fictional narrative, and abstraction, Balcom’s films explore the relationship between cinematic artifice and communal affects. He has explored melodrama, film essay, and, more recently, regional histories. His films have screened at venues and festivals such as the European Media Arts Festival, Media City Film Festival, First Look, International Film Festival Rotterdam, IndieLisboa, Alchemy Film, and Slamdance. His films have received awards at the Onion City Film Festival, Athens International Film & Video Festival, and Ann Arbor Film Festival. He is the recipient of the Mary L. Nohl Fellowship for Emerging Artists and a Fellowship.Art Acceleration Grant. Balcom was recently a fellow at the Center for 21st Century Studies at UW-Milwaukee. Balcom received his MFA in Film, Video, Animation, and New Genres from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and his BA in Film-Video Production from Hampshire College.