Join us for a conversation with actor, bestselling author, and award-winning documentary filmmaker Leslie Zemeckis. Leslie will discuss her filmmaking process, her approach to storytelling, and her work which emphasizes and celebrates women’s stories. Leslie is also an author and actress, and she has been recognized with the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for her work preserving the stories of marginalized women.
Leslie Zemeckis
Actor, Author, Documentarian
About Leslie Zemeckis:
Leslie Zemeckis is a best-selling author, actress, and award-winning documentarian. Critically acclaimed films include Behind the Burly Q, the award-winning Bound by Flesh, Mabel, Mabel, Tiger Trainer and Grandes Horizontales which streams April 12, 2024 (Amazon, iTunes, Google, Vudu, etc).
She has acted in film and television opposite Steve Carell, Tom Hanks, Richard Lawson, Colin Firth and Mickey Rourke.
Zemeckis is the author of three best-sellers, Behind the Burly Q, the definitive oral history of burlesque, Goddess of Love Incarnate; the Life of Stripteuse Lili St. Cyr and Feuding Fan Dancers (an SCIBA finalist for best bio of the year), about Sally Rand, Faith Bacon and the golden age of the showgirl.
She writes a monthly book column in the Montecito Journal and has contributed to Huffington Post, Medium, Talkhouse, W Magazine and Stork Magazine. She is the founder of “Stories Matter,” sponsored by Santa Barbara International Film Festival and ENTITY Magazine, with professional female authors mentoring the next generation of female storytellers. Her Tedx talk was “Forgotten to Forever: Immortalizing Women Through Stories.”
She was honored for her work inspiring women, in 2023 with the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in part for “sharing and preserving stories of women who were once marginalized and stigmatized . . .” but due to her work “these women are now celebrated for their independence and personal agency.” The Medal is officially recognized by both Houses of Congress and is one of our nation’s most prestigious awards. Past recipients include Presidents Clinton and Reagan, Elie Wiesel, Sen. John McCain and HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco.
IMPORTANT DETAILS:
This panel will take place virtually over ZOOM. Ticket purchasers will receive a ZOOM link to this panel 2 hours before the published start time. If you don’t already have the ZOOM app, please make sure to download on your device before the panel start time.
If you purchase an All-Access Pass for our May Festival events prior to the date of this panel, you will also receive admission to this virtual panel, included as part of your pass.
If you are a current Annual Member of NFMLA, please email info@nfmla.org to receive a complimentary ticket to this panel. If you are not an Annual Member of NFMLA and would like to join, you can become a member here.
