Assistant Professor

Film & Video Production
Graduate Studies in Media Arts

B.A. in English from U.C. Berkeley; M.A. in Cinema from San Francisco State University

Born and raised in New York City, Lisanne Skyler is a writer and director of both fiction and nonfiction films. Her short documentary OLDTIMERS (1993), a black and white cinema verite style portrait of the elderly regulars of a San Francisco Irish bar, played in such festivals as Cinema du Reel in Paris, the Vancouver International Film Festival and the San Francisco International Film Festival, where it won a Special Jury Prize. She went on to make the Sundance Film Festival Documentary Competition entry NO LOANS TODAY (1995) about a black-owned pawnshop in post-riot South Central Los Angeles; and DREAMLAND (2000), a portrayal of the struggle of compulsive gamblers living in Las Vegas. Both NO LOANS TODAY and DREAMLAND were broadcast nationally on PBS in the prestigious POV/The American Documentary series.

For her feature film debut, Lisanne co-wrote and directed the critically acclaimed independent feature film GETTING TO KNOW YOU (1999), adapted from three short stories by Joyce Carol Oates. The film premiered in the 1999 Sundance Film Festival Dramatic Competition. GETTING TO KNOW YOU was chosen as the opening film for the Venice Film Festival Critics Week, received a FIPRESCI Special Jury Award at the Stockholm Film Festival, and a nomination for the Independent Spirit Someone to Watch Award for Skyler. The film debuted theatrically at New York�s Film Forum and played in theatres across the U.S, earning Two Thumbs Up from Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper and inclusion in The Village Voice and LA Weekly�s Best of 2000 lists. The film was broadcast on Sundance Channel. In Italy, it was widely released to critical acclaim from the Italian Press.

As a screenwriter, Skyler has written both original and adapted screenplays for numerous independent film producers. Working with the author Rebecca Chace, she adapted Chace�s 1970s New York City coming of age novel CAPTURE THE FLAG into a screenplay she will direct. She has served on film selection committees and juries for The Sundance Film Festival, The San Francisco International Film Festival and The American Film Institute Film Festival.

Skyler is currently preparing to direct her feature film adaptation of the Joyce Carol Oates suspense novel STARR BRIGHT WILL BE WITH YOU SOON, starring the 2008 Academy Award Nominated Amy Ryan (GONE BABY GONE, THE CHANGELING) and Olivia Thirlby (JUNO, SNOW ANGELS). She is represented by Jennifer Levine and Jason Newman of Untitled Entertainment.

e-mail: skyler@email.arizona.edu
office: 520.621.8977

Marshall Bldg, Room 226

Film Distributor information: http://icarusfilms.com/filmmkr.html
IMDB details: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0805052/