BEN STASSEN (Director)

BEN STASSEN (Director) has enjoyed a remarkable career as a special venue filmmaker. Stassen produced one of the first high-resolution computer graphics films for the large-format screen, the short Devil's Mine. He went on to co-found nWave Pictures, which has since become the world's largest producer and distributor of ride and attraction films.

As Chief Executive Officer of nWave, Stassen expanded the company's operations into the large-format arena. His directorial debut, Thrill Ride: The Science of Fun (1997), was hugely successful for Sony Pictures Classics. Stassen followed this success with two 3D giant-screen spectaculars distributed by nWave Pictures, 3D Mania: Encounter in the Third Dimension (1998) and Alien Adventure (1999).

Stassen's talents were then employed to create and direct a series of other provocative and successful film titles for nWave. Haunted Castle (2001) blended computer-generated digital imagery and live action photography in 3D. S.O.S. Planet (2002) was the sequel to 3D Mania: Encounter in the Third Dimension, and Wild Safari 3D (2005) was filmed entirely on location in South Africa. Stassen's Fly Me to the Moon is the company's first true feature film conceived and created for the 3D environment.

A world leader in multi-platform digital filmmaking, Stassen is quoted extensively in industry and mainstream press for his strategies and opinions about the future of 3D cinema and how to utilize digital technologies to maximize intellectual properties across multiple media platforms.
Stassen graduated from USC's School of Cinema and Television.