Lisa Thrasher

Lisa Thrasher is a creative Independent Film Producer with 20 years of filmmaking experience in Hollywood and the World beyond. Lisa has focused her producing career to creating authentic Queer and Women’s Arthouse fiction-films with diverse voices and stories that are much-loved by audiences worldwide.

Lisa’s films are creative collaborations with some of Hollywood’s top women and queer film and TV artists/creators, including Jamie Babbit, Cherien Dabis, Tina Mabry, Angela Robinson, Andrea Sperling, Colette Burson, Nefertite Nguvu, Doug Spearman, Jane Lynch, and Melanie Mayron. While Lisa is known for her robust creative vision, adept storytelling, and strong support of her Directors’ visions, she is also a solid practical Producer who strives to create collaborative, diverse, and equitable work environments, working within each film’s time and budget constraints.

Collectively, Lisa’s films have screened at over 1000 film festivals worldwide, including four Sundance, Berlinale, and South by Southwest Film Festival premieres and top-slot programming (Opening Night, Centerpiece, Closing Night) at Queer Film Festivals around the world. Lisa’s films have won over 90 film festival awards, a regional Television Academy Emmy, and a student Academy Award Nomination. Her short and feature films have achieved international and domestic commercial success in distribution via Theatrical, Television, Home Entertainment, and Streaming. Lisa has Produced international film and television productions in Kosovo, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand.

For over 10 years, Lisa co-headed POWER UP Films, a visionary film production company and non-profit educational organization dedicated to films by-and-for Women and the Queer community. As President of Film Production and Distribution, Lisa led all development, production, and distribution of POWER UP Films’ content and filmed entertainment, including Queer romantic comedy features “Itty Bitty Titty Committee” (Berlinale “Teddy Award” Nominee and the South by Southwest “Best Narrative Feature Jury Award winner) and the rock-musical-comedy “Girltrash: All Night Long” (Cinneffable: Paris Lesbian & Feminist Film Festival, Best Film); and, the Marriage Equality Public Service promotional campaign, “Get to Know Us First.”

Previously, Lisa worked inside the Hollywood Entertainment Studio system, doing International Anti-Piracy litigation, International Anti-Piracy Policy Relations, Trademark Prosecution & Appeals, and Licensing & Merchandising. While in-house at the 20th Century Fox Film Studio, Lisa sat on the Motion Picture of Association of America’s International Anti-Piracy Committee to conduct joint International Anti-Piracy litigations and engage in International Anti-Piracy negotiations with Heads of State in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Lisa has taught at a number of universities, including Chung Ang University in Seoul, Korea; Howard University in Washington, D.C.; University at Buffalo, New York; and, the Madrid Spanish Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Lisa also participates in many Film Festival industry panel discussions, including “Sex on Screen” South by Southwest panel with John Cameron Mitchell; Frameline’s “We Want our Dykeback Mountain” panel; and, the Belfast International Film Festival in Northern Ireland with Daniela Sea and Julie Christie.

Lisa’s Fine Art Photography has been exhibited in the US and France. Lisa was awarded the prestigious Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Visual Arts Fellowship for her Fine Art Photography.

Degrees

• Juris Doctorate, Law, Southwestern University School of Law (focus on Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law)
• BFA, Photography and Film, School of Art, Virginia Commonwealth University