Lisa Gossels

Introduction (2-3 lines)

Lisa Gossels is the Artistic Director of Boston Jewish Film. She is also an Emmy® Award-winning documentarian whose films The Children of Chabannes and My So-Called Enemy have garnered 20 awards and honors. A sought-after speaker and guest educator, Lisa travels with her films to high schools, colleges and universities and religious and cultural institutions - using her documentaries as tools to engage youth, secular and faith communities in dialogue and to build bridges across differences.

Lisa Gossels is an Emmy® Award-winning documentarian, guest educator and consultant for documentarians whose films have garnered twenty awards and honors. Her first feature documentary, The Children of Chabannes, made with Dean Wetherell, won a 2001 Emmy® Award, 10 film festival awards, had a limited theatrical release, aired on HBO Signature, local PBS stations and is now on Kanopy Streaming. The Children of Chabannes has been praised as "One of the most heartening Holocaust films ever made, splendid, informative and emotionally involving," (Los Angeles Times). My So-Called Enemy, Lisa's second film, garnered a CINE Golden Eagle and 9 film festival awards. My So-Called Enemy aired in the ITVS-curated public television series Global Voices on the WORLD Channel. The movie has been cited as "A provocative, balanced film that offers unexpected hope for resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." (Washington City Paper) and "An insightful, moving, important film. Extraordinary." (The Huffington Post) Lisa has been teaching and speaking and offering a talk and identity workshop connected to My So-Called Enemy, called Don't Make Any Assumptions for 10 years now: at high schools, on colleges & university campuses and in secular, religious and interfaith settings. Lisa became a documentarian because she believes in the power of film to effect social change. In February 2022, Lisa became the Artistic Director of Boston Jewish Film. The role includes curating major film festivals/year and year-round programming and work in education. Lisa has served as a Juror for the News & Documentary Emmy Awards, The Cleveland International, Ivy and Woodstock Film Festivals. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Brown University. Lisa's company Good Egg Productions, now in Greater Boston, produces documentary, corporate and educational films.

Lisa Gossels is an Emmy® Award-winning documentarian whose films have garnered twenty awards and honors. Her first feature documentary, The Children of Chabannes, made with Dean Wetherell, won a 2001 Emmy® Award, 10 film festival awards, had a limited theatrical release, aired on HBO Signature, local PBS stations and is now available on Kanopy Streaming. The Children of Chabannes has been praised as “One of the most heartening Holocaust films ever made–splendid, informative and emotionally involving,” (Los Angeles Times) and called “A seamless memoir of courage and a tribute to the human spirit.” (New York Daily News) My So-Called Enemy, Lisa’s second film, has garnered a CINE Golden Eagle and nine film festival awards since premiering at Silverdocs in 2010. She was honored as “Someone to Watch” at the 2011 Cleveland International Film Festival, a “Luminary” at the Boston Jewish Film Festival’s 2011 “Luminaries and Legends Gala” and, in 2012, with the Annual Miller Reel Jewish Woman Filmmaker Award. My So-Called Enemy, which aired on the WORLD Channel, in the ITVS-curated public television series, Global Voices, has been cited as “A provocative, balanced film that offers unexpected hope for resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” (Washington City Paper) and “An insightful, moving, important film. Extraordinary.” (The Huffington Post)

Lisa is currently the Artistic Director of Boston Jewish Film. The role involves curating and programming two annual film festivals, year-round programming and work in education. Lisa has spent years traveling around the country with My So-Called Enemy and The Children of Chabannes, teaching at high schools and universities and engaging youth, secular and faith communities in dialogue. Lisa became a documentarian because she believes in the power of film to effect social change. She has served as a Juror for the News & Documentary Emmy Awards, The Cleveland International Film Festival, The Ivy Film Festival and The Woodstock Festival – and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Brown University.

Beyond her documentary work, Lisa has produced and directed educational and advocacy film through her now Greater Boston-based company, Good Egg Productions. She consults with documentarians on all aspects of filmmaking and storytelling – from pre-production through distribution and outreach. She has created content for more than 40 corporations and non-profits as a production manager, “real person” casting director and wardrobe stylist. Prior to a career in film and video production, Lisa worked for nine years in the Media and Account Management departments of numerous major New York City advertising agencies.

New Day Films by Lisa Gossels

Awards & Accolades

Winner, Jury Prize for Best Conflict & Resolution Film, Hamptons International Film Festival
Winner, Special Jury Prize in Filmmaking, Starz Denver Film Festival
Winner, Audience Award, Best Feature Documentary Film, Boston Jewish Film Festival
Winner, Jury Prize for Best Feature Documentary Film, Newport Beach Film Festival
Winner, MacGillivray Freeman Films Award for Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking, Newport Beach Film Festival
Winner, Best Documentary Feature, CINE Golden Eagle
Lisa Gossels honored as “Someone To Watch” (Mid-Career Award), Cleveland International Film Festival
U.S. Broadcast Premiere on the ITVS Global Voices series (July 2014)
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