Cogent/Benger Productions Inc. began producing high-profile network documentaries and specials in 1998. The company has a reputation for producing films for a wide public that explore major social issues. The founders, and Robin Benger and Christopher Sumpton, previously had several decades of producing, directing or editing award-winning documentaries. Over the span of their careers, Cogent/Benger’s principals were nominated for thirty major documentary awards and were awarded sixteen. The company ended production in 2018.
Some highlights are: I, Pedophile (CBC; First Hand), which took a courageous look at new research into the causes of pedophilia; The Great Canadian Tax Dodge (TVO), about the growing trend toward companies using elaborate but, surprisingly, legal schemes to avoid taxes; The Autism Enigma (CBC, ARTE), an exploration of surprising new research into the causes of autism, seen on The Nature Of Things; Sex Scandals In Religion (VisionTV), a four-part series delving into sex abuse in four of the world’s great religions; Five Roads To Freedom (VisionTV), followed the lives of five South Africans from different backgrounds who overcame the deadly legacy of Apartheid; Pedal Power (CBC; Doc Zone), which took to the mean streets with the urban bicycle to find out “Who owns the road these days?”; Porndemic (CBC; Doc Zone), about how porn has infiltrated mainstream business; and Pharma Sutra (CTV), was about the race to bring a female version of Viagra onto the market. China’s Leap of Faith (VisionTV), was a two-part series on the resurgence of religion in China. How To Stop A Hurricane (CBC), an award-winning futuristic science film, demonstrated how the latest hurricane-fighting theories could work against a computer-generated monster storm. First Person Shooter (CTV) was the first documentary film to look inside the gamer generation’s obsession with violent video games. Wolverine: Devil of the North, (Discovery Canada/Animal Planet) was a natural history film about the elusive wolverine.
You can explore our films here. Many of them are available on Vimeo.