The documentary Becoming Benjamin Lay by director Tony Buba and historian Marcus Rediker explores the life and ideas of an unknown radical Quaker dwarf abolitionist who demanded an end to slavery almost 300 years ago. At the center of the film is the prize-winning play Rediker wrote with Naomi Wallace, The Return of Benjamin Lay. Actor Mark Povinelli embodies the visionary Lay, challenging us to live with courage and conviction in dark times. The film brings a forgotten hero back to modern public memory.

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Marcus Rediker is Distinguished Professor of Atlantic History at the University of Pittsburgh. He has written or edited seventeen books, including The Many-Headed Hydra (2000, with Peter Linebaugh); The Slave Ship  (2007); The Fearless Benjamin Lay (2017); and Freedom Ship (2025). His writings have won numerous awards and been published in twenty languages worldwide. He has produced two documentary films with Tony Buba: Ghosts of Amistad in 2014 and now Becoming Benjamin Lay.