Bio Mary Anne Benner Camerawoman, Director, Editor and Producer I am an independent documentary filmmaker and producer focusing primarily on ethnographic documentaries pertaining to social issues. Over the last three years, I have Co-produced, directed, filmed, and edited two documentaries which have been used by advocacy groups to bring awareness to domestic violence and childhood sexual assault. In 2006, I was hired as a cinematographer and editor on a medical documentary, Diabetes y La Familia. Since 2006, I have continued to work on medical documentaries for Hispanic Health Projects at Idaho State University and Intel in Hillsboro, OR. In 2008, a documentary I produced, directed, filmed, and edited in 2006, aired on an NBC Affiliate Station in Pocatello, Idaho "Living With Autism: A Family's Story of Love, Hope, and Acceptance" Personal Statement The Documentaries I have made have been told from the perspective of the insider's point of view in order to show the reality of their lived experience. I feel that my personal life experiences have lead me down this path and have given me the ability to feel comfortable in any situation and with anyone I talk to. Having been raised in foster care and seeing children who came from and went back to abusive homes, having seen my real mother live through several chronic illnesses; including breast cancer, and having been sexually assaulted and raped as a child, has made me more aware and empathetic to individual struggles around me. I feel that those experiences, although difficult to go through, have provided a deeper trust with everyone I've interviewed. The stories I've told and the people I've met have left an indelible mark that I will carry with me forever.