robin benger

Partner

Robin Benger is a producer/director/writer/narrator of television documentaries. Born in England, raised in South Africa, he's been working in Canadian journalism and documentary filmmaking since 1976." Individuality, unpredictability, relevance, rich characters and a strong instinct for narrative are the qualities we aim for in Cogent/Benger documentaries.

One rule we have is, if we wouldn't watch it, we ain't gonna make it. Another rule is, whenever possible, stop and smell the flowers."

christopher sumpton

Partner

Christopher produces, directs and writes television documentaries. Born in Vancouver, he headed to Toronto in search of a career. He entered the wonderful world of television in 1977at the CBC, where he discovered editing and a love of documentaries.

After a stint as a freelance editor and feature film trailer producer, Christopher teamed up with Robin Benger to produce In Security (Hot Docs 1998 nominee best political/social issue documentary) and Eastside Showdown (Gemini Awards 1999 nominee best social/political documentary). Together they formed Cogent/Benger Productions in 1999 to continue to produce socially relevant, issue-oriented films in the same vein.

“ Making a documentary is like a journey down two streams - gut reflex and eternal planning. When they come together, magic happens.”

marion gruner

Associate Producer and Director

In 1998, while living in the rainforests of northern Australia it suddenly became clear to Marion that the world was a puzzle to be cracked. The best way to do this, she decided (possibly erroneously), was to make documentaries. Since then she’s worked as a producer, director, editor, and production manager. Her work has been featured on radio and television, in art galleries, and screened internationally. She joined the ranks at Cogent/Benger in 2004. The puzzle, incidentally, remains happily unsolved.

tess loyson

Production Manager

We are delighted to welcome Production Manager Tess Loyson to Cogent/Benger.
She replaces Lara Popic who is devoting herself fulltime to her doctoral
thesis at the University of Toronto.

Tess has a B. Math from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from Queens.
She's s an independent producer and creator of an multicultural food
series called Street Eats which currently airs on Sun TV in Canada. A
broadcast programmer for many years, she was a key team member at the launch
of several new television networks (TORONTO 1, SCREAM, Edge TV, and The
Documentary Channel).