Lisa F Jackson

Early life and career

Lisa (Elisabeth) Finch Jackson was born in San Francisco CA in 1950, the daughter of Nancy Abrams and Morton B Jackson. When she was young, both her father and step-father, Donald Carmichael, were in the CIA and as a result she moved often, living in Bangkok, Thailand and in Bogota, Colombia before settling in Washington DC in 1963.

Jackson studied filmmaking at MIT with famed documentarian Richard Leacock. In 1972 she moved back to Washington DC, working first as a location sound recordist, then as a film and videotape editor on such films as “Reflections on a Revolution" for Bill Moyers' Journal, "The Unquiet Death of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg" for PBS and, working with filmmaker Charles Guggenheim, TV campaign spots for Senators Frank Church, Fritz Hollings and Ted Kennedy.

She has directed and/or edited dozens of films for PBS including: Voices and Visions: Emily Dickinson'’, ‘’Jackson Pollock: Portrait’’, ‘’Through Madness’’ (a 1993 NYC Emmy winner), ‘’The Creative Spirit’’, ‘’Storytellers’’, ‘’The Sixth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition’’, ‘’Bill Moyers' Journal’’, ‘’The Mind’’, and segments for ‘’Sesame Street’’ and ‘’Live from Lincoln Center’’. Jackson's credits as a producer/director include ‘’Meeting with a Killer: One Family’s Journey’’ (2001, Court TV; 2001 Emmy Award nominee), ‘’Life Afterlife’’ (1999, HBO), ‘’The Secret Life of Barbie’’ (1998, ABC; 1999 Emmy Award winner), ‘’Why Am I Gay?’’ (1993) and ‘’Addicted’’ (1997) for HBO’s ‘’America Undercover’’series, ‘’Smart Sex’’(1994) and ‘’No Money, Mo’ Problems’’ (1998) for the MTV series ‘’True Life’’, ‘’The Other Epidemic’’ (1993, ABC), ‘’Firefighters’’ (1997, The Learning Channel), ‘’A Passion to Play’’ (1997, ABC Sports), five episodes of the Hallmark Channel’s acclaimed ‘’Adoption’’ series (2001-2003), including stories shot in Siberia and Guatemala; and two seasons of the hit series ‘’Psychic Detectives’’ (2002-2005, Court TV). Jackson has also produced Public Service Announcements for the US Justice Department’s Office for Victims of Crime and a short film to support UN Women’s work in the Cote d’Ivoire and she has spent the last four years shooting Tres Mujeres (“Three Women”), a documentary about a group of displaced women living in the slums of Bogotá, Colombia. It is currently in post-production.

The Greatest Silence

For her documentary ‘’The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo’’, Jackson filmed in the war zones of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ‘’The Greatest Silence’’ won a Special Jury Prize for Documentaries at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, earned 2 Emmy nominations and was seen on HBO in 2009. The film has received notices and articles in ‘’The New York Times’’, ‘’Human Rights Quarterly’’, ‘’Ms.’’ and others. The feature-length film provides an intimate look into the horror--and grace--of the lives of women and girls who have survived sexual violence in this war-torn region.

Sex Crimes Unit

Jackson’s 2011 documentary, ‘’Sex Crimes Unit’’ offers a look inside the New York District Attorney’s office at the preeminent unit in the U.S. dedicated to the prosecution of rape and sexual assault. The film follows members of the unit through their investigations, including the case of a prostitute who is a victim of rape and a woman whose case was literally almost thrown away. It aired on HBO in 2011 to positive reviews.

It Happened Here (2014 documentary film)

It Happened Here on IMDb

Critical reception

Tom Shales of the Washington Post has praised Lisa F. Jackson’s documentaries as “superb” and “outstanding”. John O’Connor commented in the New York Times that “producer/director Lisa F. Jackson is remarkably adept in getting her subjects to speak frankly and thoughtfully,” and the Christian Science Monitor noted that she takes on difficult subjects “with intelligence and courage.”

John Anderson of Variety wrote “Helmer Lisa F. Jackson's Sex Crimes Unit is the real thing, a gritty, emotional, up-close-and-procedural look at the actual New York district attorneys dedicated to prosecuting rape and sexual assault….Sex Crimes Unit has drama, suspense, terrific personalities and a great deal of heart. The attorneys are portrayed as basic, funny, human people who just happen to be devoted to a job not many people could do, or would want to do.”

Michael Cieply at NYTimes.com wrote that ‘’Sex Crimes Unit’’ “is an overall primer on the crime of rape and the extreme difficulty involved with its prosecution…takes a close look at a mostly female group of prosecutors and assistants who clearly take visceral joy in their victories.”

Awards and honors