Bio

Emmy-award winning documentary filmmaker, new media specialist, public health professional

Details

Lisa Russell is an Emmy® Award-winning filmmaker whose background in humanitarian aid and international development work has inspired her to produce films about the health and well-being of our global society. Inspired by the late Jonathan Mann to pursue her Masters in Public Health in International Health in 1998, Lisa has since produced films in Brazil, Burkina Faso, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Lebanon, Liberia, Malawi, Niger, Northern Uganda, Tanzania, and South Africa. Some of Lisa’s work has been broadcasted on public television (including PBS and Channel 4 London), while others are tied into advocacy, fundraising or legislative efforts with UN and international agencies. She actively screens her films around the country at universities, conferences, festivals and hill briefings and has reached thousands of students, young people and others to spark dialogue about U.S. responsibility in global affairs. In September 2005, Lisa collaborated with Grammy-nominated artist Zap Mama to create “The WOMAN Tour” – a 3-week nationwide initiative of film screenings and musical performances to increase awareness of global women’s health. Lisa was chosen as one of 25 filmmakers for the National Black Programming Consortium's New Media Institute, is a two-time producer for WGBH's Lab Open Call and is a 2008 recipient of a New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) grant and a Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media Grant. In May 2009, she won a Boston/New England Emmy® Award in the "Outstanding Advanced Media Interactivity" category for her short film, "Bi-Racial Hair." Currently residing in Brooklyn, NY, she is a teaching artist with Urban Word NYC, where she leads a workshop blending film screenings and open mics for young spoken word artists to initiate awareness and dialogue about social issues affecting today’s youth. For more information including a list of Lisa's filmography, please visit: www.governessfilms.com.