Ben Lewin

Ben Lewin – Life, Career, and Memorable Insights

Learn about Ben Lewin, the Polish-born Australian director and screenwriter. Explore his early life, career highlights (The Sessions, Falling for Figaro, etc.), style, challenges, quotes, and lessons for filmmakers.

Introduction

Ben Lewin (born August 6, 1946) is a director and screenwriter whose work bridges Australia, the UK, and the U.S. He is perhaps best known in international circles for The Sessions (2012), a tender, unconventional film about disability, intimacy, and human connection. Lewin’s career is marked by persistence, a deeply personal sensibility, and the ability to tell emotionally resonant stories from marginal perspectives.

Early Life and Background

• Birth & Origins: Though Lewin is often referred to as Australian, he was born in Poland in 1946.

• Migration to Australia: As a child, his family emigrated to Melbourne, Australia (circa 1949).

• Health & Disability: At about age six, Lewin contracted polio, an event that left him using crutches for the rest of his life.

• Education & Early Career: In Melbourne, he studied law at the University of Melbourne and worked as a barrister before shifting to filmmaking.

• Film Training: In 1971, Lewin left his legal career when awarded a scholarship to study film at the National Film & Television School (UK). He remained in England afterward, entering television and documentary work.

Lewin’s early life—migration, disability, a professional shift from law to art—shaped his empathy for marginal experiences and his narrative sensibility.

Career & Major Works

Lewin’s career spans decades, genres, and national film industries. Below is a survey of key phases and films.

Television & Early Film Work

• In the UK, Lewin directed for television, including programs for BBC, Nationwide, Thames, Granada, and Channel 4.

• One of his early breakthrough projects was The Case of Cruelty to Prawns, a comedy-drama telefilm that won the Best Television Film Award at the Melbourne Film Festival.

• Lewin returned to feature filmmaking in Australia and internationally:

  • The Dunera Boys (1985) – a historical drama about displaced persons during World War II.

  • Georgia (1988) – starring Judy Davis, which earned several Australian Film Institute nominations.

  • The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish (1991) – a quirky fantasy/romantic film with Bob Hoskins, Jeff Goldblum, Natasha Richardson.

  • Lucky Break (1994) — also known as Paperback Romance in some markets.

The Sessions and Later Success

The most internationally recognized film by Lewin is The Sessions (2012). It’s based on the real-life story of Mark O’Brien, a poet who, due to disability (post-polio), hired a sex surrogate to help him lose his virginity. Lewin both wrote and directed it.
The film received strong acclaim:

• Audience Awards at Sundance, San Sebastián, Mill Valley

• Golden Globe nominations and Independent Spirit Awards for its leads (Helen Hunt, John Hawkes)

Following The Sessions, Lewin continued directing and writing in the U.S. and internationally:

• Please Stand By (2017) – a road/comedy drama.

• The Catcher Was a Spy (2018) – espionage drama.

• Falling for Figaro (2021) – romantic comedy/music theme. Lewin co-wrote the screenplay.

Additionally, his television writing and directing credits include creation or contributions to series like Speechless, Ally McBeal, Rafferty’s Rules.

Style, Themes & Personal Voice

Empathy & Marginality

Lewin is drawn to stories that highlight marginalized voices, personal adversity, and emotional stakes in unlikely settings. The Sessions addresses intimacy and disability not with pity, but with dignity, humor, vulnerability.

Lightness & Tone

Even while dealing with weighty themes, Lewin often employs a light touch — humor, irony, understated emotional beats — to make the characters’ journey accessible. In The Sessions, for example, critics noted the “sly wrongfooting” of expectation, balancing frankness with tenderness.

Personal Experience as Lens

Lewin’s own disability (from polio) gives him a personal connection to stories of physical limitation, longing for connection, and social perceptions. In interviews, he has spoken about how The Sessions resonated with him beyond mere external interest.

Cross-Cultural & International Work

Lewin has moved fluidly across the Australian, British, and American film industries. His sensibility is not parochial; he often adapts stories with universal emotional cores rather than local specificity.

Memorable Quotes & Reflections

Here are some statements or reflections attributed to Ben Lewin (or drawn from interviews) that illuminate his mindset and approach:

• In The Guardian interview, he described the moment he discovered Mark O’Brien’s story:

  “Reading his piece … was a burning-bush moment.”

• On *The Sessions’ tone and ability to reach audiences:

  “You can reach women without brute force.”

• Of his own career and emotional access:

  Lewin admitted he has “very hard to reach emotionally,” and that he used his “specialness” to persuade people he was the right one to tell The Sessions.

• Reflections on career and craft: in various interviews, Lewin emphasizes persistence, accidental discovery, and the importance of passion in choosing projects. (See, for instance, the Playlist interview)

These lines show a filmmaker who gravitates toward vulnerability and subtle power in storytelling.

Lessons from Ben Lewin’s Journey

1. Turn personal challenge into creative strength
   Lewin’s lived experience with disability gave him deeper insight into stories like The Sessions. Creators can mine their own perspective to give authenticity.

2. Choose stories of emotional truth over spectacle
   His most lauded work often comes from modest settings, internal conflict, and human stakes—not large budgets or special effects.

3. Be patient — success may come later
   Though Lewin worked for decades before The Sessions brought broad recognition, his persistence and refining of voice paid off.

4. Blend humor with gravitas
   Even in serious narratives, his use of lightness and irony helps audiences connect to difficult topics without being overwhelmed.

5. Cross borders, but anchor to human core
   Working across nations, Lewin shows that the emotional universals of love, limitation, longing resonate beyond cultural divides.

6. Be open to discovery
   Lewin reportedly stumbled upon O’Brien’s story while browsing online, not intentionally. This suggests that sometimes great stories find us when we’re curious, not searching.

Conclusion

Ben Lewin may not be a household name like blockbuster directors, but his films carry emotional weight, moral nuance, and a deeply human sensibility. From early work in television to The Sessions, Falling for Figaro, and beyond, he proves that filmmaking grounded in empathy and inner life can break through boundaries and touch audiences.