Opal H. Bennett is an Emmy-winning Senior Producer at POV and Executive Producer at POV Shorts. Under her leadership, POV Shorts broadcast the 2026 NewDoc Emmy Nominee for Short Documentary, Chasing Time and the 2021 Winner, The Love Bugs. Previously, Opal was Shorts Programmer and Director of Artist Development at DOC NYC and Senior Programmer at Athena Film Festival. Opal also worked with Nantucket Film Festival, Aspen ShortsFest, Tribeca Film Festival and consulted for The Gotham. She is a Programming Consultant for the March On! Film Festival. 

Opal is a member of the AMPAS Documentary branch, where she has served on the Branch Executive Committee for three years. She is a Board Member of the Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC), and  has served on juries for SxSW, HotDocs, DOCNYC, Aspen & Palm Springs ShortsFests, and Seattle International Film Festivals among others. She has also served on the shorts selection committees for Cinema Eye Honors and the IDA. Opal has participated on various selection committees for film programming and grants.  A Columbia Law grad, Opal holds a Masters in Media Studies from the LSE, and received her B.A. from New York University.