LISA COLLINS

Oscar’s Comeback

Witness the melodrama and culture collision behind-the-scenes of a unique, annual mom-and-pop film festival held in the struggling, all-white small-town of Gregory, South Dakota. From historical reenactments to heated debates to ‘corporate’ take-over, it’s an everything-goes five-day event dedicated to their most famous ‘native son’ -- the largely forgotten, controversial, early 1900s black film pioneer, Oscar Micheaux (1884 – 1951); known to some as the “Godfather of Independent Cinema”.

Shot over the span of 7 summers -- and following the two fiery heads of the fest who take on an ambitious benefactor -- Oscar’s Comeback charts the rise, fall and transformation of the teetering festival. Both serious and entertaining, the film takes a look at outsiderism, smalltown pride, race relations today, and what it means to be a true independent fighting against the odds -- all through the prism of Oscar Micheaux, whose restless spirit has come back ‘home’ to inspire another button-pushing tale.

Coupled with her filmmaking, Lisa has worked as a Senior Editor/Segment Producer/Entertainment Journalist. For her prior fiction films, her honors include: top festival prizes from Avignon, Atlanta, Columbia Grad Film School; a Student Academy Award (Best Alternative Short/Gold Medal); a DGA Award (Best African American Student Filmmaker); being selected as a Writing/Directing Sundance Fellow; being named “One of the 25 New Faces of Independent Film” by Filmmaker Magazine.

For Oscar's Comeback, she and film partner, Mark Schwartzburt (Co-Director/Producer), have been awarded grants from: New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA); South Dakota Humanities Council (SDHC); Chicken & Egg Pictures; Vital Projects Fund; CBC (Celebration of Black Cinema); and NBPC (National Black Programming Consortium). Women Make Movies serves as their Fiscal Sponsor.

In addition to participating in the Firelight Media Producers' Lab, Lisa is also a Tribeca All Access (TAA) Fellow. At TAA, Oscar's Comeback was awarded “Honorable Mention for Creative Promise” and was also selected to partake in the prestigious alumni showcase “Key Ingredients”. The film also recently won a Sundance Documentary Fund Grant.