Furlined Furlined

Dreams of becoming a professional footballer were cut short by all the clichés of a misspent youth. To be then turfed out of a rough and tumble school where most couldn’t spell the word ambition, the future looked far from bright….

A random decision to backpack through Asia aged 17 proved a game-changer. It was whilst living amongst the hustlers and con artists in Kowloon’s Chunking Mansions (made famous by Wong Kar-wai) that a fascination with people living on the margins - was born.

A degree in Politics and Modern History in Manchester followed as did a job as an on-screen Reporter on Channel 4’s “Gazzetta Football Italia” but it was only when picking up a camera on set that Montorio discovered his true vocation. He began self-shooting small films on the beautiful game. A call from the BBC documentaries department soon followed.  

In his first documentary with the BBC, “Hooligans", he went undercover with Lazio fans (one the world’s most dangerous sets of football supporters in the world) and  earned himself a Grierson nomination.  He was subsequently commissioned by the BBC to make a series of current affairs films that went on to win multiple awards. 

Benito went undercover with the British gangs running Ibiza in “Drug Land”, directed an award winning film about the abduction of footballers’ mothers in one of the most dangerous favelas in Brazil in “Ransom City”, spent six months documenting the victims of the drug trade in Bolivia for “12 Year Old Cocaine Smuggler,” and for “Marriage and the Mob” Montorio went home to Naples to tell the story of the ultra-violent turf war made famous by “Gomorrah” through the prism of a wedding. He then went onto make a film about the “boss of bosses” and head of the Sicilian Mafia in “The Real Godfather.”

After a year sandwiched between the Italian secret police and the Mafia it was time for a change.

In 2009 Benito turned his hand to commercials. Benito partnered with BBH London and Robinsons to "imagine" a world where a British player won Wimbledon, from here he went on to shoot the first John Lewis Christmas Ad with Adam & Eve. 

Since then Benito has brought his undeniable craft and artistry to many award winning commercials in both America and the UK.

He is currently developing his first feature based on a true story.

Click HERE for Benito's personal website.