JODI SAVITZ
Florida native Jodi Savitz is an independent documentary filmmaker based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She graduated from the prestigious Northwestern University with a degree in theatre and gender studies. Her passion for film and a vision “to create innovative and socially relevant work” propelled her to NYC to pursue a career in film-making. In 2010, while in Buenos Aires, Savitz produced her first film, “Yo Soy Asi,” about the Argentine lesbian community. Her current project, “Girl on Girl,” is nearing completion: a feature-length documentary that follows the personal stories of feminine-identified lesbians who, even after coming out, feel invisible and stigmatized. “’Girl on Girl’ evolved out of my lived experiences and those of the women around me,” Savitz says. “Ever since I came out, my identity has been challenged… I never understood the true scope of society’s skepticism toward my orientation until college. Not only did frat boys discount me, but also my own gender studies peers doubted me for being ‘too heteronormative-looking’ to be a real lesbian. The irony was enormous.” Nevertheless, she remembers having enough support growing up to let herself be open about her identity. She came out at 14, and has been passionate about LGBTQ activism ever since. Now her goal, she says, is to fill a void in LGBTQ programming and to create valuable media resources for our community and beyond. –SLO
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