Leslie Harris (director) facts for kids

Leslie Harris is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. She is known for her independent films that often tell stories about young women.

Leslie Harris's Early Life

Leslie Harris was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1960. She studied at Denison University, earning a degree in Studio Arts. During her college years, she also studied abroad in France. Her very first film projects were short animated movies and live-action films.

Her Career in Film

Harris moved to New York City in 1982. She began her career working in the advertising industry. However, she soon wanted to do more creative work. She decided to direct commercials instead. Harris even started her own company to make commercials for small businesses.

While working odd jobs to pay her bills, she wrote her own movie scripts. She also worked at a non-profit film center. This gave her access to equipment to make her films. Harris often says her mother's encouragement helped her succeed. Her mother always taught her that women can achieve any career goal.

In 1992, Leslie Harris released her film Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.. With this movie, she became the first African-American woman to win a Special Jury Prize at The Sundance Film Festival. She won for Best Feature Film as a director, writer, producer, and executive producer.

Harris has also shared her knowledge by teaching. She has lectured about filmmaking at many universities. These include Tulane University and Columbia University. She also taught screenwriting and film production at New York University Tisch School of the Arts.

Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. Film

In a 1993 interview, Harris talked about why she made Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.. She felt that most movies about young people growing up focused only on boys. Girls were often just side characters. Harris wanted to change this.

She said, "I actually wanted to bring the female characters to the foreground." She wanted to show the real issues young women faced in the 1990s. Harris especially wanted to tell the story of a young African-American woman growing up. She believed it was important to see women both in front of and behind the camera.

Her film received money from several arts organizations. These included the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Film Institute. The movie was released by Miramax and shown in many theaters across the U.S. and other countries.

In 2022, Harris announced that she had finished writing a script for a sequel to the film.

Leslie Harris's Filmography

• Exceptional Women of Color Hair Salon, Writer, Director, Producer (1990 Commercial)
• The First Novel, Writer, Director, Producer (1991 Short Film)
• Lorraine Klassen Tribute South African Music & Miriam Makeba: Live at SOB's, Director (1991 Music Video)
• Just Another Girl on the I.R.T, Writer, Director, Producer (1992 Miramax Films)
• Bessie Colman: A Dream to Fly, Writer, Director, Producer (1994 Short Film)
• Never Forget (1994 Documentary Short)
• Short-takes on the Independent feature Market, Segment Director (1997)
• Elect Renee Collymore, Director, Producer (2014 Weisode Short)
• Trailblazing Women Series, Herself (2015)

Discussion at the New York Film Festival

In October 2015, Leslie Harris attended the New York Film Festival. During a question-and-answer session with film director Michael Moore, Harris asked about how minority filmmakers can succeed in Hollywood.

Michael Moore replied that the low number of female directors is "a form of apartheid". He meant it was a serious problem of unfairness. Moore added that more people, especially men, need to speak up about this issue. He said that film guilds, like the Writers Guild and Directors Guild, must fix this problem. Moore even agreed to be in Harris's next film.

Awards and Recognition

Leslie Harris has received many awards and honors for her work:

• Special Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival (1993)
• Gotham Award Winner, Open Palm (1993)
• Official Selection, Tokyo Film Festival (1993)
• Official Selection, Deauville Film Festival (1993)
• Official Selection, Toronto Film Festival (1993)
• American Film Institute Filmmaker’s Award
• Official Selection, Philadelphia Film Festival (1996) - for Never Forget
• Showtime Award for Excellence, Bessie Coleman a Dream to Fly (1994 Showtime Broadcast)
• Citation from the President of Brooklyn, New York, for her contributions to the Arts and Film

Grants and Fellowships

Harris has also received important grants and fellowships to support her filmmaking:

• National Endowment for the Arts Grant
• New York State Council for the Arts (for production and post-production)
• Association of Advertising Agencies Fellowship Award
• New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship
• Jerome Foundation
• Association for Film and Video Grant
• Brooklyn Arts Council Filmmaker Grant
• Art Matters Fellowship