Early this year, the Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival brought together creatives to highlight Jewish storytelling. The up-and-coming talent at this year’s festival included Palm Beach Gardens native Ben Krieger, who was in town to promote his new film, The Floaters. The coming-of-age film takes place at a Jewish summer camp where a struggling musician supervises a group of misfit campers. “I play the son of a bigshot lady who donates a lot of money to the camp,” says Krieger. “He’s kind of the bully character, but he’s also a good young Jewish lad.” May is Jewish American Heritage Month; Krieger says events highlighting his faith are critical for representation. “They are trying to show diverse Jewish life and represent Jewish identity not just as these cliches you see,” he says of the festival.
Krieger’s acting career started on the stage of Starstruck Academy in Stuart, where he landed his first role in Peter Pan in 2013. He was 8. Three years later he was accepted into the First Steps to Stardom program at Maltz Jupiter Theatre and met an agent who started him on the path to professional acting. Krieger landed a part in the national tour of Pippin, and starred in the national tours of The Sound of Music and Finding Neverland.
Two years later, he put acting on hold. “I wanted to go to high school and be a normal kid,” says Krieger. While a student at Dreyfoos School of the Arts, he began playing guitar and writing music. He performed at local restaurants, eventually landing a spot in the 2024 Sunfest lineup in West Palm Beach.
Last year, Krieger moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting and music. His first feature film—The Short Game—was released in September. In March, Krieger starred in an episode of Tracker on CBS. Krieger still continues to write and record music. “I released a few songs last year which I loved very much,” he says. “My goal is to hone my sound and find out what Ben Krieger sounds like.”
Krieger was happy to return to his roots during the film festival. “I love to come back and show what I have gotten to do and take the opportunity to thank the place that I come from.”
Facebook Comments