the 2009

VANGUARD

awards

sponsored by

CARRIE LEZOTTE

As a producer and director, Carrie LeZotte has committed her talent to producing quality stories--stories with an impact and a purpose. As founder and director of One of Us Films, a Detroit-based production company, LeZotte develops film-based strategies for drawing attention to social issues and local non-profits, while supporting emerging filmmakers.

“One of Us,” a short drama about date-rape, became an educational tool for rape-awareness education at Michigan State University, and is currently distributed by Discovery Education. What inspired the film were stories, people, women and friends without an avenue to be heard, those without the resources to make a far-reaching impact. She became their voice.

At One of Us Films, she has been that voice and offered an insightful lens for capturing the heart of such organizations as: the Detroit Institute for Children; Boys Hope Girls Hope of Detroit; HAVEN of Oakland County; The Detroit Orientation Institute of Wayne State University; and Automation Alley of Southeast Michigan.

Currently in-development is a television pilot that follows the growth and training of Leader Dogs for the Blind. To support female filmmakers and the fight against Breast Cancer, as well as provide socially-relevant entertainment to Metro-Detroit audiences, she has made One of Us films a regular host of LUNAFEST, the national film festival that features films for, by, and about women and allots partial proceeds to the Breast Cancer Fund.

As co-founder of OIC Movies, LeZotte has been developing a new-style news website for the American Sign Language (ASL) and Deaf-community. Through OIC’s site, she intends to fill a niche in deaf-media, providing the community informational stories in their native language, from Deaf reporters, and on general as well as culturally-relevant issues.

With everything else, LeZotte has found time to become an involved teacher and mentor to her One of Us Films employees and interns. While growing One of Us Films, LeZotte spent 10 years managing the internal video department for Comerica Bank and producing award-winning work.