Academy of Art University Media Awards 2015 Honorary Doctorate Recipient: Lisa Cholodenko
Honorary doctorate recipient Lisa Cholodenko addresses the audience. Photo by Bob Toy.
Academy of Art University is honored to welcome acclaimed writer and director Lisa Cholodenko to the inaugural Academy of Art University Media Awards, as this year’s honorary doctorate recipient.
Born in California’s San Fernando Valley, Lisa Cholodenko holds an integrated major of ethnic studies, women’s studies and anthropology from San Francisco State University, and an M.F.A. in screenwriting and directing from Columbia University School of the Arts. During her time at Columbia, Cholodenko wrote and directed various short films, before moving on to features, garnering many accolades for her work.
Drawn to making films charting the interactions between a small community of characters, Cholodenko’s work has helped bring the LGBTQ community to the forefront of mainstream culture. Her character studies delve into the psychological depths of sexuality and desire, allowing the audience to become observers in these stories.
Her first feature film High Art won The Waldo Salt Screenwriting award at Sundance and, along with her 2002 work Laurel Canyon, it premiered at Cannes Director’s Fortnight.
Her 2010 comedy drama The Kids Are All Right, starring Julianne Moore, Annette Bening and Mark Ruffalo, was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Original Screenplay, and earned Cholodenko the Best Woman Screenwriter award from Alliance of Women Film Journalists in 2010.
When speaking of her directorial style, Ruffalo told IFC.com that with Cholodenko “you feel free to move and live between the lines. She lingers on a scene. She loves behavior. She’s not afraid to explore.” Both Ruffalo and Bening received Academy Award nominations for their performances and Bening won a Golden Globe.
In addition to a thriving film career, Cholodenko’s work also includes television, from directing episodes of Six Feet Under to the HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge, which premiered at the 2014 Venice Film Festival to rave reviews.
She has served as a member of the dramatic jury at the Sundance Film Festival and joined Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Directors from 2012 to 2013. Last year, she was part of the 20th annual Los Angeles Film Festival as the guest director, so it’s safe to say we are humbled to be able to honor her at this year’s Academy of Art University Media Awards.
Honorary doctorate recipient Lisa Cholodenko and James Egan. Photo by Bob Toy.
Dr. Elisa Stephens and Lisa Cholodenko. Photo by Bob Toy.