Lisa Cortés is an American producer and director of a number of film and television works, including ''
Little Richard: I Am Everything'' in 2023.
Early life, education and early career
Cortés is a native of
Milford, Connecticut
Milford is a coastal city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, between New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport. The population was 50,558 at the 2020 United States Census. The city includes the Vill ...
and a graduate of
Milford Academy. She attended
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
, graduating with a degree in American Studies. Cortés began her career at
Def Jam
Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop.
The ...
, later Rush Producers Management and then as an executive at
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...
. She is now the CEO o
Cortés Filmworks
Filmmaking
Cortés is an alumnus of
New York Film Academy
New York Film Academy – School of Film and Acting (NYFA) is a Private college, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit film school and Drama school, acting school based in New York City, Los Angeles metropolitan ar ...
. She produced the feature films
''The Apollo'', ''Little Apple'', and ''
Invisible Beauty'', and worked with
Lee Daniels
Lee Daniels (born December 24, 1959) is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He made his directorial film debut with ''Shadowboxer'' (2005), followed by ''Precious (film), Precious'' (2009) which earned him Academy Award nomin ...
to produce
''The Woodsman'',
''Shadow Boxer'', ''Tennessee'', and ''
Precious
Precious may refer to:
Music
* Precious (group), a British female pop group
Albums
* ''Precious'' (Chanté Moore album), 1992
* ''Precious'' (Conrad Sewell album), 2023
* ''Precious'' (Cubic U album), 1998
* ''Precious'' (Ours album), 200 ...
''.
Cortés co-directed a film about the work of
Stacey Abrams
Stacey Yvonne Abrams (; born December 9, 1973) is an American politician, lawyer, voting rights activist, and author who served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017, serving as minority leader from 2011 to 2017. A member ...
in ''
All In: The Fight for Democracy'' with
Liz Garbus
Elizabeth Freya Garbus (born April 11, 1970) is an American documentary film director and producer. Notable documentaries Garbus has made are '' The Farm: Angola, USA,'' '' Ghosts of Abu Ghraib,'' '' Bobby Fischer Against the World,'' '' Love, Ma ...
; ''
The Remix: Hip Hop X Fashion'', and ''
Little Richard: I Am Everything'' with
Dee Rees
Diandrea Rees (born February 7, 1977) is an American screenwriter and director. She is known for her feature films ''Pariah (2011 film), Pariah'' (2011), ''Bessie (film), Bessie'' (2015), ''Mudbound (film), Mudbound'' (2017), and ''The Last Thing ...
as Executive Producer, a documentary which premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023.
The festival has acted ...
.
In 2023, Cortés co-directed ''The Space Race: The Untold Story of the First Black Astronauts'', featuring the stories of
Guion Bluford
Guion Stewart Bluford Jr. (born November 22, 1942) is an American aerospace engineer, retired United States Air Force (USAF) officer and fighter pilot, and former NASA astronaut, in which capacity he became the first African American to go to sp ...
,
Ed Dwight
Edward Joseph Dwight Jr. (born September 9, 1933) is an American sculptor, author, retired test pilot, and astronaut. Enlisting in the U.S. Air Force in 1953, he earned a commission as a lieutenant in 1955. In 1961, at the direction of Presiden ...
, and
Charles Bolden
Charles Frank Bolden Jr. (born August 19, 1946) is a former Administrator of NASA, a retired United States Marine Corps Major General, and a former astronaut who flew on four Space Shuttle missions.
He graduated from the United States Naval ...
. The documentary was produced for
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
with Executive Producers
Frank Marshall, Tony Rosenthal, and former astronaut
Leland Melvin Leland may refer to:
Places United States
* Leland, Illinois, a village
* Leland, Iowa, a city
* Leland, Michigan, an unincorporated community and census-designated place
* Leland, Mississippi, a city
* Leland, North Carolina, a town
* Lelan ...
and producers Keero Birla and Mark Monroe.
Selected awards and recognitions
*The Apollo -
in 2020;
shortlisted for nomination of the
Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film
The Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film is an award for documentary films. In 1941, the first awards for feature-length documentaries were bestowed as Special Awards to '' Kukan'' and '' Target for Tonight''. They have since been bes ...
at the
92nd Academy Awards
The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 2019 and took place on February 9, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:00 ...
.
*Precious - six nominations at the
82nd Academy Awards
The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2009 and took place on March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:30 p.m. ...
, including
Best Picture
The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...
,
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:
Film awards
* AACTA Award for Best Direction
* Academy Award for Best Director
* As ...
and
Best Actress. Won
Best Supporting Actress and
Best Adapted Screenplay.
*
Little Richard: I am Everything - Nominations:
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...
,
Grammy Award for Best Music Film
The Grammy Award for Best Music Film is an annual accolade for performers, directors, and producers of quality videos or musical programs. It is presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony established in 1958 when it was called the Gramophone Aw ...
,
Dorian Award
The Dorian Awards are general and LGBTQ-themed accolades for excellence in film, television and Broadway / Off-Broadway, as voted by the members of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics. GALECA is an association of professional jour ...
for LGBTQ Documentary of the Year, 2023
.
References
External links
*
Cortés Filmworks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cortes, Lisa
Living people
American documentary film directors
American documentary film producers
Film producers from Illinois
American women television directors
American television directors
20th-century American women
21st-century American women
Yale University alumni
Music industry executives
New York Film Academy alumni
Milford Academy alumni
Primetime Emmy Award winners
1960 births