Max Benitez Twenty three year old Chicago native Maximliano Benitez is a filmmaker and youth media educator. He is currently directing a documentary feature about the Uptown Chicago based youth performance ensemble, Kuumba Lynx. The film follows Kuumba Lynx to Cuba, New Mexico and around Chicago as they perform and document cultural experiences to inspire their next stage production. In the summer of 2000 he participated in a cross-country tour documenting American personal political experiences for the web based American Story Project. In the summer of 2001 he worked as a researcher for Future 500, a book and online directory of youth organizations. For the past year he has freelanced and volunteered at Street-Level Youth Media in Chicago and organized the first Chicago Hip-Hop Documentary Festival. He currently resides in New York City teaching at Playing 2 Win, a community technology center in Harlem. More Bios: Marinieves Alba | Ang 13 | Shaheen Ariefidien | Max Benitez | James Bernard | Toni Blackman | Triple Blak | Jeff Chang | Kevin Coval | Jonzi D | Mos Def | Martha Diaz | Jessica Green | James "Casper" Jankowiak | Talib Kweli | Bakari Kitwana | M1 | Boogie McClarin | Ivor Miller | Marcyliena Morgan | David Muhammad | Yunus Rafiq | Dr. Raquel Z. Rivera | Livio Sansone | Clyde Valentine | Cristina Verán | Zephyr