Biography
Casey Beck is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, producer, and screenwriter known for her bold, impactful work. Her debut short, Mongolia: Land Without Fences, premiered on FRONTLINE/World in 2007. After completing a Fulbright scholarship in Argentina, she served as First Unit Director on the New York Times Critics’ Pick Ballplayer: Pelotero (2011). Casey also contributed to a groundbreaking series about Dominican baseball PRX’s The World during this time.
In 2013, Beck debuted her feature documentary The Organic Lifeat the 36th Mill Valley Film Festival, which went on to win Best Documentary Feature at the Santa Cruz Film Festival. The film was later streamed on Hulu, FoodMattersTV, Amazon, and iTunes. Her short Shades screened at the Academy Award–qualifying Cinequest in 2019, and her film Legion followed in 2020.
Beck’s powerful documentaries on water contamination and access issues, Downstream (2018) and The Great Divide (2020), have earned global recognition and numerous awards. Both films were paired with investigative reports by the Investigative Reporting Workshop, Public Health Watch, and YaleE360. Her film Smells Like (2022) was published by Amnesty International and played a key role in the Public Health Watch report Toxic Texas Air, which won a prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award.
Casey Beck is currently developing a docuseries about climate activists, titled “Change Makers.”
Casey Beck Selected Filmography with Work Samples
Smells Like (2022), Red Dragon, BMD Pocket 4k
https://publichealthwatch.org/2022/06/02/smells-like-harris-county-texas-pollution-refineries/
17 minutes, Director/Cinematographer
Published in partnership with Public Health Watch, Investigative Reporting Workshop, and the Pulitzer Center
The Great Divide (2020), Black Magic Design Ursa Mini Pro, Pocket 4k
https://vimeo.com/417389014
19 minutes, Director/Editor/Cinematographer
Yale Environment 360 Video Contest, 3rd Place (2020), Wild & Scenic Film Festival (2021), Eugene Environmental Film Festival (2020), FOLCS International Short Film Competition, Finalist (2021), Cinema Verde - Honorable Mention
Lion on the Mat (2020), Varicam LT
http://liononthemat.com/
16 minutes, Cinematographer
Cinequest - Best Documentary Short (2021), Maryland Film Festival (2021), Reality Bytes Film Festival - Best Documentary Short (2021), Mountainfilm (2021), Santa Barbara International Film Festival (2021)
Legion (2019), Canon C-100
https://vimeo.com/306597113
6 minutes, Director/Cinematographer/Editor
Cinequest (2020) SF DocFest (2019) Dumbo Film Festival (2019) Buenos Aires Film Festival (2019)
Shades (2018), Canon C-300
https://vimeo.com/267040708
5 minutes, Director/Editor/Cinematographer
Cinequest (2019) Bravemaker (2019) Film Shortage (2018)
Sunday Dinner (2017), Mandarin/Cantonese with English sub-titles Canon 5D Mk II
https://vimeo.com/206502543
15 minutes, Director/Cinematographer
CAAMFest (Center for Asian American Media) 2017, Xfinity Streampix digital channel (2017), Feedback Film Festival (2018) Tasted: Chinese Culture, 2018 – (Chinatown Community Development Center)/Museum exhibit in San Francisco
The Organic Life (2013), Panasonic GH-2, Canon 5D Mk II
https://vimeo.com/81688629
60 minutes, Director/Producer/Cinematographer
Invoking the Pause (environmental action fund), 2013, 2014
Mill Valley Film Festival, 2013, Active Cinema Circle
Santa Cruz International Film Festival, 2013, Best Documentary
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival, 2014
Oakland International Film Festival, 2014
Sonoma International Film Festival, 2014
Foodie Film Festival, British Colombia, Canada, 2014
Flatirons Food Film Festival, 2014
PivotTV (The Documentary Channel), 2014
Hulu, 2014
Food First, 2014
Frozen River Film Festival, 2015
FoodMattersTV, 2015
EcoFarm, Premiere National Organic Farm Conference, 2015
Mendocino Film Festival, Cinema in the Vineyard, 2016
Up! Up! Farm Film Festival, 2016
G3 Conference, Sonoma, 2016
NOFA-NY, 2016
Ballplayer: Pelotero (2011), Panasonic HVX200
https://www.amazon.com/Ballplayer-Pelotero-John-Leguizamo/dp/B008FRI4JE
77 minutes, First Unit Director/Camera
New York Times Critics’ Pick, 2012
Cleveland Film Festival, 2011
Hamptons Film Festival, 2011
Miami International Film Festival, 2012
Sarasota Film Festival, 2012
Independent Film Festival Boston, 2012
Netflix, 2012
Amazon Prime, 2015