Leslie Harris (director)
| Leslie Harris | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1960 Cleveland, Ohio |
| Occupation | Film director, screenwriter, producer |
Leslie Harris is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. Harris is best known for the film Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.
Director, screenwriter and producer Leslie Harris was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1960. Harris grew up with a love of film and the arts which prompted her to pursue a degree from Denison University, earning a B.F.A. in Studio Arts. She also studied abroad in Aix-En-Provence, France during her junior year. Her early film work consisted of animations and live action shorts. Harris moved to New York in 1982 where she began working in the advertising industry, including for major advertising firms such as FCB and Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide (both members of the American Association of Advertising Agencies). Harris soon grew frustrated with the limits of the advertising industry and moved into directing commercials. Harris established her own commercials company catering to the small business community such as the "Exceptional Women of Color Hair Salon". Harris took on temp work to pay the bills, writing her feature screenplays in between answering phone calls. She also worked evenings at "Film/Video Arts", a nonprofit film and video rental and post-production facility where she had access to equipment she could use to create her films. Harris attributes her mother’s advice, motivation, and encouragement from a young age to her success: her mother always insisted that women can achieve any career goal. Spike Lee's tenacity and success as a black feature filmmaker also inspired her to continue pursuing her goals within the film industry. With her 1992 film Just Another Girl on the I.R.T., Leslie Harris became the first African-American woman director, writer, producer and executive producer to win a Special Jury Prize at The Sundance Film Festival for Best Feature Film. Harris has lectured on filmmaking and film at esteemed institutions such as Tulane University, Wellesley College, Portland State University, Columbia University and the Canadian Film Institute to name just a few. Harris has also taught both screenwriting and film production classes as both a full-time and adjunct professor at New York University Tisch School of the Arts.
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