Lisa France

Lisa France (born May 15, 1967) is a director and screenwriter known for directing Anne B. Real , Love and Suicide (2005), and Roll with Me (2017).

Early life

Lisa France was born on May 15, 1967, in Quincy, Massachusetts. She went to Brooklyn College, where she played NCAA Division I basketball. At Brooklyn College, she filed a successful Title IX lawsuit against the school's athletic department over a lack of funding for women's sports. She went on to play professional basketball in the United Kingdom. She was first drawn to filmmaking at the age of 29 when she saw Meet Joe Black filming near her apartment in New York City. France did stunt work in films like Spike Lee's He Got Game and Summer of Sam, as well as the TV show The Sopranos, while preparing to start her directing career.

Career

In 1999, France directed her first short film, Love in Tow, starring Zach Braff and Quentin Crisp.

Her first feature film, Anne B. Real, was released in 2003. The film, about a young woman rapper in Spanish Harlem who is inspired by The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, won a Black Reel Award for Outstanding Independent Film , and was nominated for the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award. Writing for the World Jewish Digest, film critic Jan Lisa Huttner wrote: Like her heroine, Ms. France finds an artistic imperative in Anne’s words. “If we’re ever going to have peace in this world, we have to continue to make stories that join cultures,” she said. I think Anne Frank, who pasted Hollywood photos around her bed and dreamed that her words would make her immortal, would agree.

In 2005, France directed Love and Suicide, the first American film shot in Cuba since 1959, as well as The Unseen. She directed her first documentary in 2017, Roll with Me, about Suheil Aghabi's 3,100 mile journey across the United States in his wheelchair. Roll with Me won awards at the Virginia Film Festival, the Woodstock Film Festival, and the Milan International Film Festival, and was a special selection at the Slamdance Film Festival. Distributed by Ava DuVernay's distribution collective Array, the documentary was released in 2018. In 2021, France directed three episodes of the Oprah Winfrey Network drama Queen Sugar, created and executive produced by DuVernay.

In 2026, France and Anne B. Real were honored during a SWAN Day program, hosted by Jan Lisa Huttner, commemorating Anne Frank.

Filmography

Film

Director

Anne B. Real (2003) Love and Suicide (2005) The Unseen (2005) Roll with Me (2017) Her Boyfriend's Secret (2018) My Killer Client (2018) Fatal Friend Request (2019) Her Secret Family Killer (2019) Everyday But Christmas (2019) Who Wants Me Dead? (2020) A Christmas Mission (2020) Greyson Family Christmas (2021) Merry Kiss Cam (2022) The Great Holiday Bake War (2022)

Writing

Anne B. Real (2003) Love and Suicide (2005) The Unseen (2005)

Television

Queen Sugar (2021, 3 episodes) The Cleaning Lady (2022, 1 episode) Naomi (2022, 1 episode)