Independent Films
No Straight Lines
(2021) Director/Producer
A mash-up of art, humor, and history, No Straight Lines tells the remarkable stories of five scrappy and pioneering queer comic book artists who broke the doors open and made LGBTQIA+ lives visible.
● Tribeca Film Festival (New York) World Premiere
● Outfest (Los Angeles) Grand Jury Prize, Best Feature-Length Documentary Film
● NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists Award for Excellence in Journalism – Documentary Film
“A rich tapestry of interwoven voices and images”
“It’s mostly about this generational transmission and the political changes that have happened over the past 40 years or so. [It’s] a generational story about recent progress.”
“An entertaining and enlightening documentary… Traces the evolution of comics as a social movement, and artistic expression as a vital channel of sexuality.”
One of “6 Gripping Art Films to See at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival”
Tongues Untied
(1989) Additional Cinematographer
(Director/Producer Marlon Riggs)
A searing experimental documentary, Tongues Untied broke new artistic ground by mixing poetry, performance, and music. Inciting a firestorm of homophobia, the documentary was lauded for its voice and bold aesthetics, and reached millions around the world.
Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men
(2019) Story Editor
(Director Sascha Jenkins)
This four-part account by Sacha Jenkins of rap and hip-hop superstars Wu-Tang Clan skillfully plumbs the depths of their music, lives, and commentary.
● Peabody Award
Last Day of Freedom
(2018) Executive Producer
(Co-Director/Producers Dee Hibbert-Jones & Nomi Talisman)
Stories from families struggling to manage feelings of shock, shame and fear after their loved ones were accused of a capital crime. Innocent family members trying to see the truth and understand what went wrong. Perspectives that are rarely, if ever heard.
● Academy Award Nomination
Color Adjustment
(1992) Producer & Research Director
(Director/Producer Marlon Riggs)
Traces 40 years of the representation of African Americans on prime time television entertainment from “Amos ‘n’ Andy” to “The Cosby Show.”
● George Foster Peabody Award
● National Emmy Award, Nomination, Outstanding Individual Achievement in Research
● National PBS Broadcast: POV
Maquilapolis
(2006) Executive Producer
(Co-Directors/Co-Producers Vicky Funari and Sergio de la Torre)
Women workers in Tijuana assembly factories initiate legal action in compliance with Mexican labor laws and a multi-million dollar environmental toxic clean up.
● Tribeca Film Festival, Special Jury Prize
● Creative Capital
● CPH: DOX Award, Honorable Mention
First Person Plural
(2000) Executive Producer
(Deann Borshay Director/Producer, Ellen Spiro Director/Producer)
A personal documentary about director Deann Borshay and her adoption from Korea at age eight by an American family in Fremont, CA.
● National Emmy Award Nomination
● Premiered at Sundance
● National PBS Broadcast: POV
My Body’s My Business
(1992) Director/Producer
This film examines the impact of the AIDS crisis on women working the streets who share their strategies for keeping safe with their “dates.” Screened at NY MoMA and The Whitney Museum, the documentary was noted by the National Women’s Health Network as “the most respectful of women of any AIDS video,” and cited as one of the 12 top AIDS videos created in the previous five years.
Roam Sweet Home
(1996) Co-Producer
(Director Ellen Spiro)
A humorous road trip with aging roamers and loners-on-wheels who live on the road full time due to economic necessity, pleasure, or both.
● National Owl Award, American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)
● Grand Prize, Big Muddy Film Festival
