Ben Lear
Ben Lear graduated from NYU in 2010 with a degree in music composition. As his senior recital, Lear wrote and performed his folk opera, Lillian, with a 20 piece orchestra and light show. The opera was about plastic pollution. Upon the album’s release, he partnered with Plastic Pollution Coalition and Gyres to raise awareness for this issue. This work has led Lear to performances at TED and the UN.In2016,Lear directed his first feature-documentary, THEY CALL US MONSTERS. As a result of shooting this film, Ben sits on the advisory board of InsideOUTWriters and is an ally member within the Anti Recidivism Coalition, teaching aweekly writing class within the Compound and mentoring former juvenile offenders upon reentry.

Director's statement
“The Compound is a jail within a jail—a high-security facility in the middle of Sylmar Juvenile Hall. Outside its gates, kids play soccer and kickball on a grassy field. These minors are being tried as juveniles for non-violent crimes. They will return home in a matter of months. Inside the Compound, the kids look the same—almost entirely Hispanic and African-American boys dressed in county grays—only they’re not allowed on the grass. They won’t be going home anytime soon. They are LA County’s high-risk juvenile offenders, tried as adults for violent crimes and facing decades, if not hundreds of years in adult prison. When I first entered the Compound in early 2013, I expected to find stocky, Steely-eyed gangsters staring me down, wishing to jump me if given the chance. Either I’d forgotten how young teenagers really look, or I’d watched too much LOCKED'UP'RAW, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Instead I met a classroom full of kids, giddy and eager to tell their stories. They went around the room and shared their career goals. Sixteen-year old Martin said, “I might want to be an architect. Or an artist. There are so many things I don’t even know about yet. But I’m excited to learn!” Then he paused and added, “I just hope I get the chance.” He faced 100 years to life for first-degree murder. For days after, I couldn’t stop thinking about this world I’d stumbled into. The narrow space between a lost childhood and a stolen adulthood where these kids managed to live, laugh and discover their potential. When I learned about an upcoming California Senate Bill that would provide them the opportunity for a second chance, I knew I had a film to make. Two and a half years later, the result:THEY CALL US MONSTERS—a coming of age story set behind bars”.