Lisa Denker started working in film immediately after leaving the Art Center School of Design's film program. She has had a varied career in film, from art directing the Grammy Award-winning rock video for Melissa Etheridge's "Ain't It Heavy," to the independent films Gas, Food, Lodging and Citizen Ruth. Lisa went on to union work on big budget films such as Batman Returns. A decade later, Lisa wanted to get back to hands-on filmmaking. Through a series of collaborations with Charlotte Lagarde on Swell and Every Child Should Have a Chance, she made her directorial debut with Heart of the Sea.
Charlotte Lagarde's documentary Heart of the Sea: Kapolioka'ehukai (2002) about Hawaiian legend Rell Sunn was broadcast internationally. Lagarde's productions Voting in America (2004), Every Child Should Have a Chance (2001), Tribal Sovereignty: Unplugged (1998), and Juvenile Justice: Unplugged (1997), are distributed in public schools throughout the United States, and the latter was screened at the White House for public policy makers. Lagarde's documentaries Swell (1996), about four generations of female surfers in Santa Cruz, California (Gold Apple from the National Educational Media Network) and Zeuf (1994), a documentary about a woman surfer's struggle with breast cancer (Directors' Choice award at the Black Maria Film and Video Festival) were broadcast on PBS stations and the Sundance Channel, and are currently in distribution on home video. Lagarde is the executive producer of 2005’s Reporter Zero, directed by Carrie Lozano (The Weather Underground). Lagarde holds an MA in documentary filmmaking from Stanford University, and a BA in Political Science. She founded Swell Cinema in 1996 and teaches media studies in high school.
2002 The Heart of the Sea: Kapolioka'ehukai (Documentary)
2002 The Heart of the Sea: Kapolioka'ehukai (Documentary)
