Safdie brothers

Early life

The Safdie brothers were raised in New York, the children of Amy and Alberto Safdie. They spent their childhood living between their father in Queens and their mother and stepfather in Manhattan. Their mother is an Ashkenazi Jew of Russian-Jewish descent.

They began making films at a young age, inspired by their film-enthusiast father, Alberto. Josh and Benny Safdie graduated from Boston University College of Communication in 2007 and 2008, respectively. They claim "turmoil of their youth", as children of divorced parents, became an inspiration for later work. Famed Israeli-Canadian architect Moshe Safdie is their great uncle; his son, playwright Oren Safdie, is their first cousin once removed.

The brothers grew up as fans of basketball and the New York Knicks. The duo try to watch every game together. Basketball is prominently featured in Lenny Cooke and Uncut Gems.

Career

''The Pleasure of Being Robbed''

In 2007, Josh Safdie was hired by Andy Spade and Anthony Sperduti to create a short film featuring Kate Spade Handbags. It also screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, along with a short film The Acquaintances of a Lonely John directed by Benny Safdie.

''Daddy Longlegs''

Their second feature film, Daddy Longlegs, had its world premiere under the title Go Get Some Rosemary in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. Starring Ronald Bronstein, it was inspired by the filmmakers' younger years living with their father, Alberto. The film won the John Cassavetes Award at the 26th Independent Spirit Awards.

''Lenny Cooke''

Their first full-length documentary film, Lenny Cooke, follows the life of Lenny Cooke, a once phenom high school basketball player, from adolescence to manhood. The film premiered at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival.

''Heaven Knows What''

In 2014, the Safdie Brothers directed Heaven Knows What under their Elara Pictures banner. The film centers around the real-life stories written in a book titled Mad Love in New York City by lead actress Arielle Holmes. The film had its world premiere at the 71st Venice International Film Festival.

''Good Time''

The Safdies directed the 2017 crime film Good Time, starring Robert Pattinson and Benny Safdie as siblings. The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.

''Uncut Gems''

The Safdies directed Uncut Gems, starring Adam Sandler, with Martin Scorsese serving as an executive producer. The film was inspired by their father's time working in the Manhattan Diamond District. Theatrically released in the United States in 2019, it received critical acclaim and became one of A24's highest-grossing releases.

Split and solo projects

In December 2017, The Hollywood Reporter announced that the Safdies would helm a remake of 48 Hrs. with the script being written by Josh Safdie, Ronald Bronstein, and Jerrod Carmichael. In December 2019, the Safdies elaborated in an interview with The A.V. Club, saying the film was still being made but it would no longer be a remake. In 2025, Josh Safdie said the film was dead: "we wrote a remake of 48 Hrs. for Paramount, and they read it, and they were like, ‘This isn’t a remake, what is this? This is an original film.’ We’re like, ‘Sorry, we tried.’"

In February 2020, Showtime ordered a pilot for The Curse, a show about the making of an HGTV-style reality series, starring Emma Stone, Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie. Fielder co-created and co-wrote the show with Benny.

In April 2022, it was reported by IndieWire that the Safdies were working with Sandler on a new project. Megan Thee Stallion, Ben Affleck, Steve Harvey, and Gael Garcia Bernal were in talks to co-star. The project would've focused on baseball and, more specifically, baseball card memorabilia; however, production stalled as a result of the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes. Additionally, Benny decided he would not co-direct the film. In January 2024, Benny revealed that the brothers would no longer be directing projects together, as they expanded to solo careers. Benny also stated he "didn't know" if he would direct a film with his brother again.

Elara Pictures

Main article: Elara Pictures

The Safdies co-founded the production company Elara Pictures in 2014. The company produced the Safdies' feature films Heaven Knows What, Good Time, and Uncut Gems, Owen Kline's feature film directorial debut Funny Pages, and the Showtime television series The Curse. Due to sexual misconduct allegations against Sebastian Bear-McClard and the Safdie brothers’ split, the fate of Elara remains unknown.

Central Pictures

Central Pictures is a production company founded by Josh Safdie, Ronald Bronstein, and Eli Bush in 2024. They produced films such as If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, Marty Supreme, and the upcoming The Land of Nod.

Out for the Count Productions

Out for The Count Productions is a production company founded by Benny Safdie in 2024, known for producing The Smashing Machine and the upcoming Lizard Music.

Influences

Their artistic influences included the cinematic works of John Cassavetes, Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino as well as underground comix artist Robert Crumb and author Irvine Welsh.

Benny named Robert Bresson's A Man Escaped as his favorite film of all time, and Josh named Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves as his favorite.

Filmography

Feature films

Producers only

Short films

Television

Josh as an actor

Benny as an actor

Film

Television

Music videos

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by the Safdie brothers

Notes

References

References

1. "Safdie Brothers LAST APPEARANCE TOGETHER for Daddy Longlegs Q&A Nov 30th 2022 Film Forum NYC".
2. Travis, Ben. (December 15, 2025). "Marty Supreme Director Josh Safdie Cast Timothée Chalamet Because Of His 'Supreme Vision For Himself'". [[Empire (magazine).
3. Ross, Alex Robert. (July 23, 2019). "The Weeknd will appear alongside Adam Sandler in crime thriller Uncut Gems". [[The Fader]].
4. "Josh Safdie". [[AlloCiné]].
5. "Benny Safdie". [[AlloCiné]].
6. Sanneh, Kelefa. (December 16, 2019). "The Safdie Brothers' Full-Immersion Filmmaking".
7. Robinson, George. (August 17, 2010). "Being The Safdie Brothers". [[The Jewish Week]].
8. Zeitchik, Steven. (August 10, 2017). "Safdie brothers bring a New York flavor to breakout thriller 'Good Time'". [[Los Angeles Times]].
9. Barshad, Amos. (August 21, 2017). "The Safdie Brothers Are Classic New York Hustlers". [[The Fader]].
10. Pfefferman, Naomi. (June 17, 2015). "Life as lived by a homeless junkie". [[The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles]].
11. Vance, Kelly. (December 25, 2019). "Hoops Hoopla + Precious Stones = Mayhem". [[East Bay Express]].
12. Brown, Joel. (June 12, 2015). "Safdie Brothers' Film Captures Life on the Street". [[Bostonia (magazine).
13. Lim, Denis. (May 13, 2010). "Growing Up With Dad, Distilled With Bite". [[The New York Times]].
14. "Kevin Tierney: Six degrees of Safdie separation, starring Moshe and me{{!}}Montreal Gazette".
15. Robbins, Liz. (August 11, 2013). "Museum, All 60 Square Feet of It, Celebrates the Eccentric". [[The New York Times]].
16. Kassel, Matthew. (6 December 2013). "Watching the Knicks With the Safdie Brothers".
17. (2008). "The Pleasure of Being Robbed". [[South by Southwest]].
18. Kohn, Eric. (October 2, 2008). "iW PROFILE {{!}} "The Pleasure of Being Robbed" Director Josh Safdie". [[IndieWire]].
19. Hernandez, Eugene. (January 7, 2010). "3 More Sundance Films Set for Immediate VOD Debut". [[IndieWire]].
20. Nelson, Rob. (May 16, 2009). "Go Get Some Rosemary". [[Variety (magazine).
21. Karger, Dave. (November 29, 2010). "'Winter's Bone' wins big at Gotham Awards".
22. Fernandez, Sofia M.. (February 26, 2011). "2011 Independent Spirit Awards Winners List". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
23. Diaz, Angel. (December 7, 2013). "Interview: Lenny Cooke and the Filmmakers of His Documentary Talk About LeBron, Their Process, and Lenny's Regrets". [[Complex (magazine).
24. Harris, Brandon. (December 6, 2013). "Hoop Dreams: Josh and Benny Safdie on Lenny Cooke". [[Filmmaker (magazine).
25. Yamato, Jen. (April 23, 2014). "Safdie Bros Launch Elara Pictures Banner With Drama 'Heaven Knows What'". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
26. Macaulay, Scott. (April 28, 2015). "I Want to Take You Higher: Josh and Ben Safdie on Heaven Knows What". [[Filmmaker (magazine).
27. Khawj, Abdulrahman. (May 11, 2015). "Watch: Electric New Trailer For Josh And Ben Safdie's Award Winning 'Heaven Knows What'". [[IndieWire]].
28. Hoby, Hermione. (November 16, 2017). "Good Time directors the Safdie brothers: 'Robert Pattinson was just a guy chasing work'". [[The Guardian]].
29. Porreca, Brian. (May 25, 2017). "Cannes: 'Good Time' Starring Robert Pattinson Gets Overwhelming Standing Ovation". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
30. Greenblatt, Leah. (October 18, 2019). "Adam Sandler on getting beat 'black and blue,' shooting nude scenes for Safdie Brothers' Uncut Gems".
31. Rubin, Rebecca. (December 29, 2019). "Adam Sandler's 'Uncut Gems' Scores Box Office Record for A24". [[Variety (magazine).
32. Kit, Borys. (December 14, 2017). "'48 Hrs.' Remake in the Works with 'Good Time' Filmmakers (Exclusive)". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
33. Dowd, A.A.. (December 20, 2019). "The Safdie brothers on Uncut Gems and how they convinced Adam Sandler to take the role of his career". [[The A.V. Club]].
34. [https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2025/12/22/moyiz5qbxq3shffmsb6aqn24kukzvf The Safdies’ ‘48 Hrs’ Script Was Too “Original” for Paramount: “This Isn’t A Remake”]
35. [https://deadline.com/2025/12/marty-supreme-josh-safdie-ronald-bronstein-interview-1236655231/ Marty Supreme’s Josh Safdie & Ronald Bronstein On Working Sans Benny; ’48 Hrs.’ & Making Pic Where “No One Has Control Of Their Own Lives” – Crew Call Podcast]
36. Andreeva, Nellie. (2020-02-18). "Showtime Orders 'The Curse' Comedy Pilot From the Safdie Brothers & Nathan Fielder".
37. (February 18, 2020). "Nathan Fielder is making a comedy pilot with the Safdie brothers".
38. (April 9, 2022). "Why Hollywood Can't Connect Movie Stars with the Filmmakers They Deserve (Column)".
39. [https://deadline.com/2023/03/megan-thee-stallion-boards-safdie-brothers-movie-adam-sandler-1235313551/ Megan Thee Stallion Circling Josh & Benny Safdie’s Netflix Film With Adam Sandler]
40. [https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2024/5/19/josh-safdies-sandlernetflix-baseball-movie-is-definitely-happening Josh Safdie's Sandler/Netflix Baseball Movie is Definitely Happening]
41. [https://www.indiewire.com/news/general-news/adam-sandler-safdie-bros-netflix-movie-live-baseball-1234928108/ Adam Sandler Reveals Upcoming Safdie Movie Will Include ‘Live Baseball’ but Has No Start Date Yet]
42. (July 18, 2023). "Benny Safdie Steps into the Spotlight with 'Oppenheimer'".
43. Shanfeld, Ethan. (2024-01-04). "Benny Breaks Out: The Safdie Brother on Going Solo, Making You Squirm With 'The Curse' and What He Learned From Christopher Nolan and PTA".
44. Otterson, Joe. (May 26, 2020). "Safdie Brothers, Elara Pictures Set First Look TV Deal With HBO". [[Variety (magazine).
45. Petski, Denise. (May 26, 2020). "The Safdie Brothers & Their Elara Pictures Ink First-Look TV Deal With HBO". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
46. Kohn, Eric. (August 19, 2022). "Owen Kline, Troubled Child in 'The Squid and the Whale,' Directed the Year's Wildest Comedy". [[IndieWire]].
47. Petski, Denise. (August 10, 2024). "'The Curse' Trailer: Emma Stone, Nathan Fielder & Benny Safdie Encounter Mysterious Happenings In Showtime Series – Update". [[Deadline Hollywood.
48. https://variety.com/2024/film/news/skinamarink-kyle-edward-ball-a24-horror-movie-the-land-of-nod-1236192427/
49. https://deadline.com/2025/10/united-artists-lizard-music-dwayne-johnson-benny-safdie-1236587421/
50. "Josh and Benny Safdie's Top 10{{!}}The Criterion Collection".
51. "Josh and Benny Safdie's Closet Picks{{!}}The Current{{!}}The Criterion Collection".
52. (January 20, 2020). "A Beginners Guide to the Safdie Brothers' Cinematic Influences – mxdwn.com".
53. (January 14, 2020). "The Safdie Brothers' Five Favorite Films". Fandango.
54. Dawson, Nick. (2013-08-21). "Watch Online: The Safdie Brothers' Solid Gold {{!}} Filmmaker Magazine".
55. (May 27, 2015). "Ariel Pink Finds Love in the Bathroom in "I Need a Minute" Video From ''Heaven Knows What''". Pitchfork.
56. Marotta, Jenna. (December 22, 2017). "Jay-Z Brings Safdie Brothers-Directed 'Marcy Me' Video to the Masses". Indiewire.
57. Blistein, Jon. (September 5, 2017). "Watch Iggy Pop, Robert Pattinson in Oneohtrix Point Never's Creepy New Video".
58. Greenwood, Douglas. (December 10, 2019). "Brockhampton have dropped an insane, Safdie Brothers-approved Sugar video". i-D.
59. Blistein, Jon. (November 12, 2020). "Oneohtrix Point Never Reunites With Safdie Brothers for 'Lost But Never Alone' Video".