Lisa Leeman has directed, produced, written & edited award-winning feature & short documentaries for over thirty-five years. She believes that intimate portraiture is a form of activism. Her films illuminate contemporary social issues through intimate character-driven stories that follow people at critical turning points.

She is currently producing and directing WALK BY ME, a thirty-year followup to her groundbreaking first documentary, METAMORPHOSIS (Sundance’s Filmmakers Trophy; POV/PBS, 1990). Roger Ebert named Leeman’s ONE LUCKY ELEPHANT one of the best documentaries of 2011. Other producing & directing credits include AWAKE; CRAZY WISDOM; OUT OF FAITH; and WHO NEEDS SLEEP (with renowned cinematographer Haskell Wexler), and a series of #MeToo PSAs. Lisa has edited award-winning documentaries for acclaimed filmmakers Stanley Nelson; Renee Tajima-Pena; Michele Ohayon, and Lourdes Portillo.

Lisa is a MacDowell, Yaddo, and Bogliasco Fellow and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Her work is supported by Sundance, Catapult, the PGA, AFI, NEA, and the California Humanities Council. She is also a member of the Documentary Producers Alliance; International Documentary Association, Women in Film/LA; Alliance of Women Directors; and WGA West. A tenured professor at the University of Southern California, she is writing a book exploring documentary ethics for Routledge Press. She has served as the creative advisor for Film Independent's Documentary Global Media Makers, and she teaches workshops for the U.S. State Department’s Global Media Makers and American Film Showcase.