Academy Award®-nominated filmmakers Tia Lessin and Carl Deal founded Elsewhere Films in 2007 to create documentary films of cultural relevance, social purpose and artistic integrity. They directed and produced the acclaimed Trouble the Water, a film about survivors of Hurricane Katrina, which was nominated for an Oscar for best documentary feature, and won the Gotham Independent Film Award and Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
Tia and Carl also directed and produced Citizen Koch, which documented the rise of the Tea Party in the American Midwest that laid the groundwork for the election of Donald Trump and the birth of MAGA. The film premiered at Sundance, and was shortlisted for an Academy Award® after being dropped by PBS under pressure from funder David Koch.
Most recently, Tia directed The Janes, a cautionary tale about the pre-Roe v. Wade era, for HBO Original Documentaries. After its premiere in competition at the Sundance Film Festival. The Janes was broadcast on HBO, won three Emmy Awards (including Outstanding Documentary, Best Social Issue Documentary and Best Directors), the DuPont Columbia Journalism Award, and was nominated for four Critics Choice Awards.
Tia and Carl are also longtime collaborators of Michael Moore, and produced Fahrenheit 9/11, winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, Academy Award®-winning Bowling for Columbine, Capitalism: A Love Story, Where To Invade Next and Fahrenheit 11/9.