The Director

Lisa's first film SUCKERFISH premiered at 2004 Hot Docs and screened at over 60 festivals across Canada and internationally. It aired on CBC's ZeD, The National, and Canadian Reflections, as well as on APTN and Knowledge. Her 2007 one-hour award-winning doc RESERVATION SOLDIERS followed several native youth before, during and after going through a Canadian army bootcamp. It aired on CTV's "W5 Presents"—Canada's most-watched current affairs show— as well as APTN and Knowledge. 2009/10 saw her complete a one-hour Bravo! doc PUSHING THE LINE: ART WITHOUT RESERVATIONS on the evolution of Northwest Coast native art, the short documentary animation THE VISIT, four short films for Knowledge's "Our First Voices" series, and SAVAGE —a short residential school musical that is her first foray into fiction filmmaking. SAVAGE has screened at 30+ festivals, including the Berlinale, SXSW, and London BFI, and won the 2011 Genie for Best Live Action Short, as well as a Yorkton Golden Sheaf for Best Multicultural Film, and two Leo Awards, for Best Actress and Editing.

Lisa attended the prestigious Canadian Film Centre's Director's Lab in 2010 and completed the short film PARKDALE in 2011. She's currently working on both fiction and documentary projects. She has mentored aboriginal youth and adults in digital storytelling using their traditional languages. Lisa is Anishinaabe, grew up in Toronto and Vancouver, and has a BFA in Film Production from Simon Fraser University.