Clint Bentley (left) and Greg Kwedar (right) laughed as they watched a take during a filmmaking class for incarnated men at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center in San Quentin, Calif., in 2025.
A pair North Texas filmmakers just signed an exclusive deal with Netflix.
Fort Worth native Greg Kwedar and Dallas-based Clint Bentley have worked on five films together over their 15-year creative partnership. The duo also share two Oscar nominations for best adapted screenplay.
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The Hollywood Reporter reported Wednesday that Kwedar and Bentley signed a first-look deal with the streaming service to develop and produce feature films through their production company, Ethos.
Essentially, the deal means that Netflix has the first crack at anything the duo work on. If the company passes, Kwedar and Bentley can then shop the project to other studios.
“In founding Ethos, our hope was to create a home where independent filmmakers can make bold, enduring work in an environment that is equitable and sustainable for the whole community of artists working on these films,” Bentley and Kwedar said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter. “We’re grateful to Netflix for their commitment to this vision and for their belief in us as artists and we’re excited for this partnership.”
In addition to their own projects, Kwedar and Bentley will also develop films with up-and-coming filmmakers selected from film schools and festivals.
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Netflix will fund the development and production of these films and release them, per the Hollywood Reporter. The move aligns the filmmakers and Netflix on a shared focus for discovering new voices in the independent film space, which Kwedar and Bentley know well.
When Ethos launched in 2024, the company made headlines for its model that pays the entire cast and crew the same wage.
In its new Netflix deal, Ethos will continue this model and also allow everyone who works on a project to receive equity from the film.
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“I’ve been fortunate to cross paths with so many gifted filmmakers at festivals and markets, Clint and Greg among them,” said Sean Berney, Netflix’s head of film acquisitions, in a statement. “What really stood out to me when working with them, aside from their raw talent, was how genuinely invested we both are in nurturing the next wave of filmmakers and giving them a real chance to make their mark.”
The duo co-write projects together and trade off directing duties.
Kwedar directed their first film, Transpecos, in 2016, followed by Bentley helming Jockey in 2021. Kwedar was back behind the camera for 2024’s Sing Sing, while Bentley directed Train Dreams last year.
Sing Sing landed three nominations at the 97th Academy Awards, including an adapted screenplay nod for Kwedar and Bentley (along with Clarence Maclin and John “Divine G” Whitfield). Just a year later at the 98th Academy Awards, Train Dreams racked up four nominations, including another adapted screenplay bid for Kwedar and Bentley.
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The duo’s next project, Saturn Return, sees Kwedar direct from a script he and Bentley co-wrote. The Chicago-set romance will premiere on Netflix later this year.
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Kwedar was born and raised in Fort Worth, and is now based in Austin.
Bentley, a Florida native, has called Texas home for at least a decade.
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