Biography
Giovanna Chesler directs documentary and narrative films addressing the body, sexuality, and gender. She is an Associate Professor and Program Director of Film and Video Studies at George Mason University. She received an MFA in Cinema from San Francisco State University and BA in Anthropology (minor in Women's Studies) from the University of Virginia. Recently, Giovanna completed a short drama, JAVA, about an artist's obsession with a coffee addict, produced by Lisa Thrasher. She co-edited and served as Associate Producer on Zeinabu irene Davis' feature documentary SPIRITS OF REBELLION: BLACK CINEMA AT UCLA, and she produced the documentary feature OUT IN THE NIGHT by blair dorosh-walther, a co-production of ITVS and CPB nationally broadcast in June 2015 on POV and Logo Network. Giovanna was selected as a Film Independent Fast Track fellow for Out in the Night.
Giovanna is developing JAVA into a feature length film. She previously directed the short melodrama Bye Bi Love (HD, 17min) about a woman who receives an invitation to her ex-girlfriend's wedding, Period: The End of Menstruation (16mm, 54 min) a feature documentary on cultural and medical trends in menstruation - distributed by Cinema Guild, New York, BeauteouS: The Trilogy, an examination of three sisters and their relationships to beauty (16mm, 43 min) and hand-some, a reflexive documentary on a failing lesbian relationship (16mm, 13 min) distributed by Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre.
Awards for these films include Honorable Mention in Fiction Filmmaking from the University Film and Video Association for Bye Bi Love, the Gold Plaque for Best Student Documentary from Chicago International Film Festival for BeauteouS: Stephanie. Period received worldwide attention as a touchstone on the menstrual suppression debate with a front-page article in The New York Times. Giovanna's films have played at over 110 international festivals in more than fifteen countries. Her new media work includes the early transmedia project Tune in HPV, a web television channel for awareness, expression and entertainment around the human papillomavirus. Giovanna produces videos for progressive organizations and feminist artists through her production company, G6 Pictures. She recently made a documentary for the Pompeii Food and Drink Project and a portrait documentary series for WIN - Women in Need - a shelter program for homeless women and their families in New York City, and short documentaries for the Center for Women's Global Leadership at Rutgers University. Giovanna is a member of IFP, Film Independent, Women in Film and Video-DC and UFVA, and serves on the Steering Committee of IndieCaucus.
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