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Bennie Klain
Bennie Klain
01:02

Bennie Klain

Trickster Films

Austin, TX USA

"If you have to justify what you do on a daily basis, if you have to justify it to yourself, then you're probably doing the wrong thing."

Career Roadmap

Bennie's work combines: Film, Radio, and Being Creative

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Day In The Life

Independent Filmmaker/Founder

I'm a storyteller bringing new voices and hidden histories to people from an indigenous perspective.

Skills & Education

Here's the path I took:

  • High School

  • Bachelor's Degree

    Film/Cinema/Media Studies

    The University of Texas at Austin

Life & Career Milestones

My path in life has been direct

  • 1.

    Grew up "dirt poor" on a Navajo reservation.

  • 2.

    Knew he wanted to do something creative with his life, but says, "on the reservation, you can be creative, but you won't get paid for it."

  • 3.

    Spent his youth working service jobs but always looking for a way off the reservation, a way to further himself.

  • 4.

    Got into college; flunked out after just one year.

  • 5.

    Too embarrassed to tell his mom he got kicked out; told her he was exploring other options.

  • 6.

    Took a job at a radio station, loved it; developed the idea for his first documentary.

  • 7.

    Went back to college at the University of Texas to study filmmaking.

  • 8.

    After graduating, he finally told his mom that he'd failed on his first try, all those years ago.