I use film and new media to engage new audiences in global health issues and to spark dialogue, especially with young people, about US responsibility in international affairs.
I feel connected to my artistic family in Tanzania.
To see a time where global consciousness shifts and we prioritize people's health and well-being.
Lisa Russell is an Emmy-award winning independent filmmaker whose background in humanitarian and international development work inspired her to produce films about health and well-being within our global society. After pursuing her Master of Public Health degree in International Health at Boston University in 1998, Lisa turned her lens on pressing global health topics such as obstetric and traumatic fistula in Niger and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; unsafe abortion in Ethiopia; food insecurity and HIV/AIDS in Malawi; and the impact of war and disaster on young people in Liberia, Lebanon, Colombia, Northern Uganda and New Orleans.
While some of Lisa’s work has been broadcast on public television (including PBS in the United States and Channel 4 in the United Kingdom), most of her films are tied into the advocacy, fundraising or legislative efforts of the United Nations and international agencies. Lisa screens her films around the country at universities, conferences, festivals and congressional briefings and has reached thousands of students, young people and advocates to spark dialogue about U.S. responsibility to global affairs.
Lisa's short film Love, Labor, Loss, released in 2004, has become a widely used advocacy tool to educate audiences on obstetric fistula. In 2005, Lisa furthered her outreach with the film by collaborating with Grammy-nominated artist Zap Mama to create “The WOMAN Tour” – a three-week nationwide initiative of film screenings and musical performances to increase awareness of global women’s health.
In 2007-2008, Lisa was chosen as one of 25 filmmakers for the National Black Programming Consortium's New Media Institute, was a two-time producer for WGBH's Lab Open Call and received grants from both the New York State Council on the Arts and the Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media. 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 about Lisa including her filmography and contact information, please visit Governess Films at www.governessfilms.com.
