Lisa Onodera is an American independent film producer, of such noted films as ''

Picture Bride The term picture bride refers to the practice in the early 20th century of immigrant workers (chiefly Japanese, Okinawan, and Korean) in Hawaii and the West Coast of the United States and Canada, as well as Brazil selecting brides from their ...

'', '' The Debut'' and ''

Americanese ''Americanese'' is a 2006 American romantic drama film directed by Eric Byler and starring Chris Tashima, Allison Sie, Kelly Hu, Ben Shenkman, Autumn Reeser, and Joan Chen. It is based on the novel ''American Knees'' by Shawn Wong, concerning the ...

''. She grew up in Berkeley, California, and attended

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

where she received a degree from the School of Motion Picture and Television. Early film credits include serving as

Associate Producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, dir ...

Arthur Dong Arthur Dong is an American filmmaker and author whose work centers on Asia America and anti-gay prejudice. He was raised in San Francisco, California, graduating from Galileo High School in June 1971. He received his BA in film from San Franci ...

's documentary, '' Forbidden City, USA'' and the Frontline documentary, ''The Monster That Ate Hollywood''. Onodera produced the 1995

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

Audience Award winner, ''

'', directed by

Kayo Hatta Kayo Hatta (March 18, 1958 – July 20, 2005) was an American filmmaker, writer, and community activist. She directed and co-wrote the independent dramatic feature-length film ''Picture Bride'', which won the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award i ...

,Kayo Hatta bio at NYAAIFF 2006
/ref> starring

Youki Kudoh is a Japanese actress and singer. She won the award for best newcomer at the 6th Yokohama Film Festival for ''The Crazy Family is a 1984 Japanese film directed by Sōgo Ishii. Awards and nominations 6th Yokohama Film Festival * Won: Best ...

Akira Takayama is a Japanese director. He is the leader of the theatre unit Port B, which he founded in 2003 to create site-specific performances. Life, career, and style Takayama was born in 1969 and spent several years in Germany studying theatre and ling ...

Tamlyn Tomita Tamlyn Naomi Tomita (born January 27, 1966) is a Japanese-American actress and singer. She made her screen debut as Kumiko in ''The Karate Kid Part II'' (1986) and reprised the character for the streaming series ''Cobra Kai'' (2021). She is also ...

, and

Toshirō Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in over 150 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration (1948–1965) with Akira Kurosawa in such works as '' Rashomon'', '' Seven Samurai'', '' The Hidden Fortress'', '' Throne of Blood'', a ...

. The film, considered a landmark

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous peopl ...

work, also received an

Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass ...

nomination for Best First Feature, and was released by

Miramax Films Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California. It was initially a leadi ...

. From 1997 to 2002, Onodera ran the production company, Celestial Pictures, with producer

Peter Shiao Peter Shiao (Chinese: 萧培寰; pinyin: Xiāo Péiyuán) is a cross border entrepreneur, film and media producer, financier, marketer, social activist and commentator, who, throughout his multi-industry career, has sought to unite the East and We ...

. The company developed a number of

projects, and co-financed and co-produced Jule Gilfillan's ''Restless'', a romantic drama set and shot in Beijing, China. In 2000, she produced Gene Cajayon's

Filipino American Filipino Americans ( fil, Mga Pilipinong Amerikano) are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos and other Asian ethnicities in North America were first documented in the 16th century as slaves and prisoners on ships sailing to and from New ...

feature, '' The Debut'', starring

Dante Basco Dante R. Basco (born August 29, 1975) is an American film, television and voice actor. He is best known for his role as Rufio, the leader of the Lost Boys in Steven Spielberg's ''Hook'', and Julian Lee in '' Fakin' da Funk'', and for his many vo ...

, which won the Audience Award at the

Hawaii International Film Festival The Hawai'i International Film Festival (HIFF) is an annual film festival held in the United States state of Hawaii. HIFF has a focus on Asian-Pacific cinema, education, and the work of new and emerging filmmakers. HIFF’s primary festival is h ...

and Best Feature at the

San Diego Asian Film Festival The San Diego Asian Film Festival (SDAFF) is an annual event organized by Pacific Arts Movement (formerly the San Diego Asian Film Foundation) that takes place every November in San Diego, California. Background SDAFF is the flagship event for t ...

. The film also received an AMMY Award for Best Independent Feature, and a MANAA Media Achievement Award, while breaking

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

distribution records with a $2 million box office return during its theatrical release in 2003. In 2003, Onodera produced the Emmy nominated half-hour

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of ed ...

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of e ...

, ''

Day of Independence ''Day of Independence'' is a 2003 short film, broadcast in 2005 as a half-hour PBS television special. It is a drama, set during the Japanese American internment of World War II, produced by Cedar Grove Productions with Visual Communications as f ...

'' for

Cedar Grove Productions Cedar Grove Productions is an independent production company based in Los Angeles, California, specializing in media and theatre arts representing the Asian Pacific American community. Media projects are educational, with Visual Communications ( ...

, which told the story of a young ''

Nisei is a Japanese-language term used in countries in North America and South America to specify the ethnically Japanese children born in the new country to Japanese-born immigrants (who are called ). The are considered the second generatio ...

'' (second-generation

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest As ...

) baseball player facing the

Japanese American internment Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspo ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In 2006, she produced

Eric Byler Eric Byler (born January 15, 1972) is an American film director, screenwriter and political activist. Personal life Byler identifies as hapa biracial, born to a Chinese American mother and a white American father. He grew up in Virginia, Hawa ...

's ''TRE'' and

Emily Skopov Emily Skopov (born 1966) is an American screenwriter and politician. Personal life Skopov was born in 1966 in New York, and is of Jewish descent. She was raised in Rockland County. Skopov earned an undergraduate degree in English literature from C ...

's ''

Novel Romance ''Novel Romance'' is a 2006 art-house romantic comedy film directed by Emily Skopov in her feature film directorial debut. It stars Traci Lords, Paul Johansson and Sherilyn Fenn. The film was shot in 2004 in Venice, Los Angeles, California, USA, ...

''. In 2009,

IFC Films IFC Films is an American film production and distribution company based in New York. It is an offshoot of IFC owned by AMC Networks. It distributes mainly independent films under its own name, select foreign films and documentaries under its Sun ...

will release ''

'', an adaptation of

Shawn Wong Shawn K. Wong is a Chinese American author and scholar. He has served as the Professor of English, Director of the University Honors Program (2003–06), Chair of the Department of English (1997–2002), and Director of the Creative Writing Progra ...

's seminal Asian American novel, "

American Knees ''American Knees'' is a novel written by Shawn Wong, first published in 1995 by Simon & Schuster, and currently published by the University of Washington Press (2005). Conceived as a cultural response to Amy Tan's novel '' The Joy Luck Club'' ...

," which Onodera optioned in 1995, the year the book was first published. Written for the screen and directed by

, and produced by Onodera, the film made its world premiere at the

South by Southwest Film Festival South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, ...

(SXSW), winning the SXSW Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature and a Special Jury Prize for Outstanding Ensemble Cast.Americanese wins at SXSW
on

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...

The film stars

Chris Tashima Christopher Inadomi Tashima (born March 24, 1960) is a Japanese American actor and director. He is co-founder of the entertainment company Cedar Grove Productions and Artistic Director of its Asian American theatre company, Cedar Grove OnStage. ...

, Allison Sie,

Joan Chen Joan Chen (born April 26, 1961) is a Chinese-American actress and film director. In China, she performed in the 1979 film and came to the attention of American audiences for her performance in the 1987 film '' The Last Emperor''. She is also ...

Kelly Hu Kelly Ann Hu (born February 13, 1968 ) is an American actress, voice artist, former fashion model and beauty queen who was Miss Teen USA 1985 and Miss Hawaii USA 1993. Hu starred as Dr. Rae Chang on the American television soap opera '' Sunse ...

Ben Shenkman Benjamin Shenkman (born September 26, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the comedy-drama series ''Royal Pains'' and the acclaimed HBO miniseries ''Angels in America'', which earned him both Primetime Emmy Award and Golden ...

and

Sab Shimono is a Japanese-American actor. He began his career on stage on Broadway and in regional theaters, starring in musicals like ''Mame'', '' Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen'', and ''Pacific Overtures''. He has appeared in dozens of movies and televisio ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Onodera, Lisa Film producers from California American people of Japanese descent Businesspeople from Berkeley, California UCLA Film School alumni Living people American women film producers Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women