Lisa Ginsburg graduated from John Hopkins University with a Humanities degree and moved to San Francisco to direct independent films. Ginsburg founded a queer women’s video collective to share equipment and provide mentorship. Her first short film, produced on a micro-budget, became an instant hit on the international indie festival circuit and earned her acclaim in Art In America and Rute Kusse a German feminist book on radical women filmmakers.
Ginsburg worked as a Script Supervisor for film and television to gain insight and training to direct larger productions. Her talent for Script Supervising landed her on Coppola and Lucas productions, among many others, and the opportunity to work closely with top directors, DP’s, screenwriters and phenomenal actors such as Charlton Heston, Kyle McLaughlin, and Shelly Winters who gave Ginsburg valuable insight into their acting process and how best to respect and support the actor’s craft.
As a Script Supervisor, Ginsburg also needed to be the eyes on the set for editorial, ensuring that production did not miss shooting any footage that post would need for continuity, creative choices and transitions. Ginsburg recognized that editorial work would greatly inform her work as a director and built a successful career as a TV and Film Editor alongside directing for independent film. In post, Ginsburg enjoyed harnessing her passion for music and sound design to create evocative soundtracks for her work.
Ginsburg’s directing credits include OVERRIDE, an independent short that screened internationally in over 40 festivals and is now available on Amazon Prime Video. Her PSA, PLAYED OUT became a pilot for mentorship programs to bring filmmaking skills to at-risk teenagers. Director Jamie Babbit awarded Ginsburg the competitive PowerUP! Directing Grant to direct CHICKEN NIGHT starring Ione Skye and Scout Taylor-Compton. Ginsburg co-directed and edited the award-winning feature documentary, RADICAL HARMONIES.
More recently, Lisa Ginsburg worked as a 2nd Unit Director on Alex McGuinness’ haunting feature film, SHE’S MISSING, starring Lucy Frye, Eiza Gonzalez and Josh Hartnett. Ginsburg’s dynamic 2nd unit rodeo footage is featured in the film’s opening montage and the Rodeo Queen contestant sequence when Eiza Gonzalez’s character competes as a barrel racer.
When Ginsburg’s memoir “Worlds Apart in Singapore,” was published as the featured cover story in Asian Jewish Life (October 2014), it became a viral sensation on the Singapore online media site MOTHERSHIP.SG which led to Ginsburg’s family story being showcased in multiple news broadcasts, documentaries, the Singapore Ministry of Culture’s 2019 Bicentennial Exhibit, and citation in the current Einstein Paper Project’s publication of Einstein’s travel diaries. Ginsburg is currently developing a pilot for a limited television series based on her Singapore stories.
Lisa Ginsburg is a proud member of directing alliances promoting and elevating the work of women directors: Film Fatales, Alliance of Women Directors, Women in Film, Glass Elevate, Women in Entertainment, WRAP Women, and International Women Working in Film. Ginsburg has always been committed to promoting diversity in the film industry when hiring crew and casting for her own productions.
