Wayland's Lisa Gossels: New Boston Jewish Film Artistic Director

Lisa Gossels, an acclaimed documentary filmmaker whose films have garnered myriad awards including a National Emmy, is the new Artistic Director at Boston Jewish Film. Gossels, a Wayland native, will curate BJF’s annual film festivals and play a lead role in BJF’s High School Antisemitism Initiative and Boston area filmmaking clinics.

“Lisa Gossels is eminently qualified to take on the Artistic Director position,” says Susan Adler, Executive Director at Boston Jewish Film. “She is a perfect fit for the organization and our team — a communicator, an educator and an idea generator. We are so enthusiastic about working with her.”

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Brown University, Gossels directed and produced “The Children of Chabannes,” an Emmy Award winning film about a tiny French village whose inhabitants saved more than 400 Jewish refugee children during World War II. Gossels’ father, Peter, and Uncle Werner were two of the saved children.

Lisa also directed and produced “My So-Called Enemy,” a 7-year coming of age story that follows a group of Palestinian and Israeli teenage girls - from their first meeting at a women’s leadership program in New Jersey back to their lives in the Middle East. Both films screened at the Boston Jewish Film Festival.

A sought-after speaker and guest educator, Gossels has presented her documentaries at hundreds of film festivals and conferences, and at educational, cultural, and religious institutions.

“I believe deeply in the unique ability of film to open hearts and minds, educate and inspire,” says Gossels, who recently returned to the Boston area after 30+ years in New York City. “Just as I believe in the power of Jewish film to amplify the rich diversity and complexity of Jewish and Israeli experience. I am delighted to be joining Boston Jewish Film as it enters its 34th year.”

About Boston Jewish Film

Founded in 1989, Boston Jewish Film runs the Boston Jewish Film Festival and the Boston Israeli Film Festival, along with various screenings and cultural events throughout the year. New England’s largest film-based organization, BJF is present in regional schools with its High School Antisemitism Initiative, and also offers filmmaking and storytelling workshops for Boston area youth. Learn more at bostonjfilm.org and follow Boston Jewish Film on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.