Lisa Jackson (filmmaker) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lisa Jackson
Lisa Jackson in 2011
Nationality	Aamjiwnaang First Nation, Canadian
Education	York University (MFA, 2016), Simon Fraser University (BFA)
Awards	Canadian Screen Award, Genie Award

Lisa Jackson is a talented filmmaker from Canada. She is also Anishinaabe, which is an Indigenous group. Lisa has won important awards like the Canadian Screen Award and the Genie Award for her amazing films.

Her movies have been shown on TV channels like APTN and Knowledge Network. They have also appeared on CBC shows. Many film festivals around the world have featured her work. These include HotDocs, Edinburgh International Film Festival, and the Berlin International Film Festival.

Lisa also creates cool new types of art. Her virtual reality (VR) project, Biidaban: First Light, won a Canadian Screen Award. It was also nominated for a Webby Award. In 2019, she presented Transmissions, an immersive film experience. Her short IMAX film Lichen also premiered in April 2019.

Early Life and Education

Lisa Jackson is a member of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation. This is an Indigenous community. She studied film at two universities. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from Simon Fraser University. Later, she received a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from York University in 2016.

Lisa Jackson's Filmmaking Career

Lisa Jackson has had a busy and creative career. She has made many films and worked on special projects.

Early Films and Teaching

In 2004, Lisa wrote, directed, and produced a short film called Suckerfish. This film was a mix of photos and animation. It explored her relationship with her mother. Suckerfish was shown at over 50 festivals and on Canadian TV.

From 1999 to 2006, Lisa worked at the Open Learning Agency. She helped create online educational videos. She wrote scripts and filmed parts for these projects. Her work was shown on Knowledge Network.

Between 2007 and 2013, Lisa traveled to remote Indigenous communities. She taught young people how to make digital films. These workshops helped youth tell their stories using modern technology. They even made films in Indigenous languages.

Special Projects and Collaborations

Lisa worked with the Embargo Collective in 2009 and 2014. This is a group of seven Indigenous artists from different countries. They work together to create new films. One film from this group, Savage, was shown in an art exhibition in 2013. Another film, Intemperance, premiered in 2014.

Since 2014, Lisa has been a mentor for the Aboriginal Documentary Program at the National Screen Institute. She helps new Indigenous filmmakers. She has also worked on projects like the National Film Board's Vistas series. These films were shown during the Canadian Olympics in Vancouver. She also worked on Knowledge Network’s Our First Voices TV series. This series focused on Indigenous languages in British Columbia.

In 2021, Lisa produced The Citizen Minutes. These were eight short films made for Hot Docs, a big documentary festival.

Films by Lisa Jackson

Here are some of the films Lisa Jackson has directed or written:

• 2004: Suckerfish
• 2007: Reservation Soldiers
• 2009: The Visit
• 2009: Pushing The Line: Art Without Reservations
• 2009: Savage
• 2010: Our First Voices
• 2011: Pow.Wow.Wow
• 2011: Parkdale
• 2013: Dynamic Range
• 2013: Hidden Legacies
• 2013: How a People Live
• 2013: Snare
• 2014: Intemperance
• 2015: The Embargo Project (directed a part of it)
• 2016: Secret Location (a virtual reality piece)
• 2017: 1491: The Untold Story of the Americas Before Columbus (a mini-series)
• 2017: Indictment: The Crimes of Shelly Chartier (co-directed)
• 2018: Biidaaban: First Light
• 2024: Wilfred Buck

Awards and Recognitions

Lisa Jackson has received many awards for her creative work.

• In 2004, she won the Alliance Atlantis Mentorship award from the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival.
• In 2005, she received the Vancouver Arts Award for new media artists.
• In 2008, her documentary Reservation Soldiers won several awards. These included the Golden Sheaf Award at the Yorkton Film Festival.
• In 2010, her musical film Savage won a Genie award for Best Live Action Short Film. It also won awards at the ReelWorld Film Festival and Leo Awards.
• In 2012, Playback magazine named her one of their "10 to Watch." She also received The ReelWorld Festival Trailblazer Award.
• In 2019, her VR piece Biidaaban: First Light won a Canadian Screen Award. This was for Best Immersive Experience – Fiction.
• In 2021, her documentary Wilfred Buck won the Best Canadian Pitch prize at the Hot Docs Forum.