Ben Loeterman

President

Ben Loeterman Productions, Inc

Ben Loeterman is a recognized filmmaker of current affairs and history documentaries. His films have aired as PBS specials and on three PBS series, the BBC, Sundance Channel, and others. His current film, BOMBSHELL (w.t.), examines US government propaganda, censorship, and the role of the press in reporting from 1945-47 on the atomic bombings in Japan through the lens of four correspondents who took decidedly different approaches.

Loeterman produced for PBS/FRONTLINE for twenty years since its inception in 1982, earning national Emmy Awards for investigative reporting and directing. His portfolio there includes criminal justice (What Jennifer Saw, Real Justice), international policy (The Triumph of Evil, Dreams of Tibet), and popular media (Angel on Death Row).

Loeterman’s films about 9/11 earned a duPont-Columbia Award. Since forming his own production company, his work has aired on AMERICAN EXPERIENCE (Rescue at Sea, Dillinger, Golden Gate Bridge) and AMERICAN MASTERS (a biography of journalist Walter Winchell). The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded him over $4 million to research and produce four projects: The People v. Leo Frank (Peabody finalist), 1913: Seeds of Conflict, Walter Winchell: The Power of Gossip (with Stanley Tucci as Winchell and narration by Whoopi Goldberg), and now BOMBSHELL (w.t.), now in post-production.

Participating Sessions

Fog of Falsehood: Disinformation, AI, and the Battle Over Reality

Governments have long used disinformation to destabilize publics, muddy accountability, and create atmospheres of deliberate confusion. Now, the rise of generative AI adds new layers to this fog, producing convincing falsehoods at astonishing speed and scale. In this session, investigative journalists and filmmakers probe the shifting terrain where truth itself can feel elusive and even unknowable. How do journalists and documentary filmmakers navigate and expose realities when narratives are constantly...