Lesley Ann Patten

Lesley Ann Patten is a film director, screenwriter, and producer whose first feature documentary Loyalties won the 1999 Canada Award.

Early life Patten grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. She is the granddaughter of Rear Admiral Stanley F. Patten who was the commander of USS Rocky Mount, the flagship of the Pacific Fleet during World War II. She is a graduate of Tufts University located in Medford, Massachusetts. She is a former radio announcer whose on-air career spanned 1978-1984 at WYSP (Philadelphia); WMMR (Philadelphia); WBCN (Boston); WNYC (New York City); and WKTU (New York City).

She moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada in 1991. She formed ZIJI Film & Television Limited in 1999. The company produces films directed and written by Ms. Patten.

Career Patten directed her first documentary in 1988. Dancemaker: Judith Jamison was commissioned by WHYY-TV, Philadelphia and broadcast nationally on PBS. In 1990-91, she wrote and directed investigative magazine pieces for The Real Story, a national magazine show on CNBC Network News hosted by Cassandra Clayton and Boyd Matson.

Her first feature-length documentary, Loyalties, won the Canada Award in 1999. Word Of My Perfect Teacher (2005), and Regarding: Cohen (2006). She is the screenwriter for three films that are in development, including The Book of Secrets, Tales From The Kingdom, and Te Juro. She acted as producer on Warrior Songs (1997) and Generation XXL (2008).

Dancemaker: Judith Jamison (1989) Dancemaker: Judith Jamison is a documentary for PBS, commissioned by WHYY-TV, Philadelphia. It is the only cinema verite documentary of Judith Jamison ever made. The film follows her working with young dancers in Philadelphia on a performance of her own choreography. a prison in theory run by tribal elders in Saskatchewan. Her sentence was commuted. Mayhew shortly thereafter died from ALS. CTV Network, Canada; Vision TV.

Words Of My Perfect Teacher (2003) Sources:

From the World Cup to the mythical mountain kingdom of Bhutan, Words Of My Perfect Teacher is a documentary about the challenging aspects of the student-teacher relationship in Vajrayana Buddhism. The title comes from Patrul Rinpoche's famous text of the same name. The "perfect teacher" of the film is Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, an eminent Buddhist and acclaimed film director. (The Cup (1999 film);Travelers and Magicians.) Guest appearances include Steven Seagal and Bernardo Bertolucci.

French versioning (2005); Spanish versioning (2009); Chinese versioning (2012)

Cohen's War (2005) CBC Network. An hour-long portrait of Canadian immigration lawyer, M. Lee Cohen, renowned for his work with refugees. The film follows his representation of Sonya Pecelj and Vladimir Zalipyatskikh. The first case follows a young woman, Sonya Pecelj from Kosovo, who seeks sanctuary for more than a year in a church; the second case follows a Russian sailor who dives off a ship in Halifax Harbour to escape virtual imprisonment by the Russian fish mafia.

Regarding Cohen The feature length, complete version of the documentary portrait of Canadian immigration lawyer M. Lee Cohen. The film ends with Vladimir Zalipyatskikh being deported. Zalipyatskikh was granted re-entry and landed immigrant status in 2010.

Awards and honors 1997: Banff Rockie Award nomination, Best Performance Film for "Warrior Songs". 1999: Canada Award for Loyalties. 2000: Yorkton Film Festival Golden Sheaf Award for Loyalties. 2000: American Film Festival, Best 10 Documentaries of 2000 for Loyalties. 2000: Gemini Award, Best Direction of a Documentary for "The Voice Set Free". 2008: CFTPA Indie Award. 2008: Francis Ford Coppola Screenplay Contest, Semi-finalist. 2008: International Family Film Festival, Hollywood for Best Documentary Short, 2008. 2008: Gemini Award nomination. 2008: Students Choice Award, Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children. 2008: Best Documentary Award from ViewFinders: International Film Festival for Youth.