Biography for
Lesli Klainberg More at IMDbPro »

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Lesli Klainberg is an award-winning producer and director whose documentaries have screened at film festivals such as Berlin, Sundance, Outfest and Frameline, and have been broadcast on networks including Cinemax, AMC, A&E, The Independent Film Channel (IFC), WE and PBS and the owner of Orchard Films.

In 2007, she produced the documentary mini-series, Indie Sex, which explores different aspects of sexuality in cinema. The three episodes Indie Sex: Teens, Indie Sex: Extremes and Indie Sex: Censored (which she also directed) premiered on IFC in 2007.

Other Orchard Film projects include Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema (2006, IFC) a feature length documentary which explores the history of American independent gay and lesbian cinema; In the Company of Women (2004, IFC), a documentary about women in independent film; Indie Sex: Taboos (2001, IFC), which was the first in the Indie Sex series; Beauty in a Jar (A&E, 2003) which tells the story of the American beauty and cosmetics industry; Directed by Alan Smithee (AMC, 2002) about the pseudonym used by film directors; and Miss America (PBS/American Experience, 2001) a history of the Miss America Pageant.

Ms. Klainberg is also the producer of Paul Monette: The Brink of Summer's End (1996), which won the audience award for documentary at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival and served as Series Producer of Showtime's six-part documentary series, The 20th Century, directed by Robert Zemeckis, Barry Levinson, and Garry Marshall, among others. She also produced The Real Ellen Story (1997) (TV), a film about the making of the "coming out" episode of the sitcom Ellen, which was broadcast on Channel Four and Bravo.

In 1994, she received a CableAce Award for her work as Supervising Producer of the HBO documentary Mo' Funny: Black Comedy in America (1993) (TV).

Ms. Klainberg spent five years at WNET/Thirteen working as a producer and coordinating producer on numerous documentary and public affairs programs.

She has served on the boards of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and Outfest, the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.

Trivia

Member of the 2003 Sundance Documentary Competition Jury.