Director: Garrett Bradley
Producer: Lauren Domino, Kellen Quinn
Cinematography: Zac Manuel,
Nisa East, Justin Zweifach
Additional Cinematography: Bron Moyi
Fox Rich is a fighter. The entrepreneur, abolitionist and mother of six boys has spent the last two decades campaigning for the release of her husband, Rob G. Rich, who is serving a 60-year sentence for a robbery they both committed in the early 90s in a moment of desperation. Combining the video diaries Fox has recorded for Rob over the years with intimate glimpses of her present-day life, director Garrett Bradley paints a mesmerizing portrait of the resilience and radical love necessary to prevail over the endless separations of the country’s prison-industrial complex.
— Accolades —
2021 Academy Awards
Best Feature Documentary - Nominee
International Documentary Association
Best Cinematography - Nominee
International Documentary Association
Best Director - Winner
Gotham Independent Film Awards
Best Documentary - Winner
Sundance Film Festival
Best Directing in U.S. Documentary - Winner
Sundance Film Festival
Grand Jury Prize - Nominee
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
Best Non-Fiction Film - Winner
Black Film Critics Circle Awards
Best Documentary - Winner
Director: Maya Newell
Cinematographer: Nisa East
Editor: Lucas baynes
2020 commission for Sydney Morning Herald / The Age Australia.
PLAYLIST is a short doc about Neda, a Tongan/Arabic Australian whose body still moves to the dance routines of her first breakout show, PLAYLIST before it was cancelled. Covid19 came without invitation, but the pause and stillness sparked Neda to question how she can represent her culture when she still has so much to learn
Collaging sonic meditations with performance-specific scenography and digital-visual archive projections, “In Service to Whom” integrates Solange’s spirit in music, design, visual art, and cultural archive and preservation into one four-act performance.
PERFORMANCE BY
Solange Knowles
MUSIC WRITTEN, COMPOSED & ARRANGED BY
Solange Knowles
SOUND PIECE
Solange Knowles & Autumn Knight
DIRECTOR
Solange Knowles
STAGE & SCENOGRAPHY DESIGN
Solange Knowles & Mahfuz Sultan
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Mahfuz & Chloe Sultan
CREATIVE PRODUCTION CONSULTANT
Carlos Soto
LIGHTING DESIGNER
John Torres
CINEMATOGRAPHER for DOCUMENTATION
Nisa East
LIVE FEED CINEMATOGRAPHER & CAMERA OPERATOR
Shirley Chan
ADDITIONAL VIDEO DOCUMENTATION
Koumbah Janneh
BAND
Band Leader, Drums & Keys: John Key
Keys & Synth: Brian Hargrove
Trumpet: Adam Dewalt
Tuba: Javan Carter
Tuba: Desmond Provost
Trombone: Jomi Calhoun
Bass: Endea Owens
Cello: Rahel Lulseged
Vocals: Kristin Brooks
Vocals: Taneka Duggan
A project with director Charlotte Mars, shot for Heaps Normal Beer ‘Normal People’ campaign. The short branded doc features the inimitable Greek Adonis / philosopher Zoe Terakes, speaking on trans futures and boundless joy in their own words. 🧡
Director/producer: Charlotte Mars
Cinematographer: Nisa East
AC / Focus Puller: Tahira Donohue
Editor: Ryan Haysom
Client: Heaps Normal
Agency: Semi Permanent
Performance of Witness! in the Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg 2019.
Composed and Directed by Solange Knowles
Director of documentation: Nisa East
Co-Direction: Zuri Obi
Cinematographer: Nisa East
Additional Cinematography: Zuri Obi & Paavo Hanninen
Edit: Nisa East
Director & Cinematographer: Nisa East
Co-Director & Performer: Salem Serene
Producer: Katie Winten
Commissioned as part of the Wh0r3s 4EVA exhibition at Firstdraft gallery, curated by Katie Winten. 2023.
The dancing body is a volume you can’t speak over. You should value the privilege of knowing there’s nothing you can say. Repetitive Flesh explores the polyphony & dissonance of erotic labour through dance. Through diligent and repetitive practice the dancer finds constructed and discovered versions of themselves: strong, complicated, soft, hot, RICH, gentle, flirty, TIRED, snacky, sore, self-assured, nurtured. Mundane & transcendent narratives coexist in the dancer.
Sex Worker rights are human rights.
Director: James Page
Cinematograper: Nisa East
IN A WILD STATE follows the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) as they undertake construction of the largest fenced area ever attempted in the Australian Outback, the removal and culling of all non-native animals within it, and the reintroduction of native species that are on the verge of extinction. The documentary explores the overlap between indigenous land management practices and western conservation methods, and gives you a look inside one of the boldest biodiversity restoration projects ever attempted in Australia.
**Project currently in post-production
Director: Elaine McMillion Sheldon
Producer: Alysia Santo
Cinematography: Nisa East, Elaine McMillion Sheldon, Lily Keber
Editor: Chad Ervin, Elaine McMillion Sheldon
In this unique portrait of motherhood, women who give birth while incarcerated at one of America's most notorious prisons struggle to stay connected with their children on the outside. The mothers turn to a group of doulas for support through pregnancy, labor and separation from their newborns; and they help each other cope with loss and guilt. This rare, intimate look behind the walls of a women’s prison raises questions about how our nation is handling the growing crisis of incarcerated mothers—and the children who must start their lives without them.
Screened on SBS ‘The Feed’
Produced / Directed: Rebecca Metcalf
Cinematographer: Nisa East
Editor: Sissy Reyes
Despite nearly 5700 known homeless young people in NSW, the Lillian Howell project is the only long-term housing refuge for young women in the state. A policy gap means the system is largely crisis-oriented and this doesn’t serve young folks who need to live independently.
This story follows Alisha & Bianca, two brilliant young women, as they take part in ‘KYUP’ a practical self-defence class focussed on empowerment and self-worth.
A digital campaign and collab between Siala, The Body Shop Australia & Launch Housing. The live-performance and branded doc aimed to raise money and awareness for female homelessness in Australia.
Prod Co: Entropico / @entropicofilm
Agency @onegreenbean
Director & Edit: Aislinn Lowe / @aislinnlowe
Producer: Tim Burnett / @timburnetti
DOP: Nisa East
AC @cameronjhnsn
Colourist @danielpardycolour
Sound recordist @stuartmelvey
Sound mix @donjoyride
Director: Agency Charlie NYC
Cinematography: Nisa East
This short, branded documentary profiles ‘Women In Digital’ - an all-star team of female technologists, headed by Achia Nila. They are dedicated to connecting, educating and empowering Bangladeshi women, and working to bring more women into the digital economy.
The Inclusive Internet Index, produced by The Economist Intelligence Unit and commissioned by Facebook, benchmarks countries on the internet’s availability, affordability, relevance and readiness of people to use it, and identifies gaps between different population groups.
Director: Ben Chace
Producer: Bill Ramsey, Ben Chace,
Cinematographers: Nisa East, Bruno Doria, Zac Manuel.
Editor: Ben Chace
Considered the birthplace of jazz music, New Orleans still holds a strong association with the genre. Music Pictures gives us a personal view into the life and craft of four distinguished elders of the New Orleans music world: Irma Thomas, Benny Jones Sr., Little Freddie King, and Ellis Marsalis. Now in their eighties, these local masters continue their practice in the city that made them who they are.
Tribeca Film Fest - 2022 Official Selection
International Film Festival Rotterdam - 2022 Official Selection
Vancouver International Film Festival - 2022 Official Selection
Director / Cinematographer / Editor: Nisa East
Producer: Jonny Seymour, Joy Ng
Comissioned by The Bearded Tit for Vivid, Queer Performance Icons is a performance series celebrating & honouring Sydney’s queer underground performance history.
Performers in order of appearance:
1. Raquel Feltch
2. Richie Finger / Cindy Pastel
3. Kilia Tipa / Kilia the Stallion
4. Kilia the Stallion
5. Kilia the Stallion
6. Cindy Pastel
7. Cindy Pastel
8. Cindy Pastel
9. Betty Grumble
10. Emma Maye / Betty Grumble
11. Betty Grumble
12. Stelly G
13. Frumpus
14. Graham Simms / Nana Miss Koori
15. Dj Bria
16. Raquel Feltch
17. Kilia the Stallion
Cinematographer & Co-Director: Nisa East
Producer: Weenta Girmay
Every sunset the chants of fishing crews can be heard echoing off the smoky, green hills above Lake Kivu. As night falls over the lake, bright flames are what lure the sambaza fish to the surface.
The fishing crews of Gisenyi share songs, they share knowledge of the lake and - as a cooperative - they share in the profits of their labour. Fishing with Fire is a short documentary about the intersection of labour & identity, and how we conceive of ourselves and those around us when individual material gain is no longer the driving force.
Through the daily rituals of the young men and women who work on the boats, we learn how worker solidarity has shaped reconciliation in Rwanda 25-years post genocide.
*Fishing With Fire is currently in development, and was selected as part of the 2019 Southern Producers lab.
‘Scales’ performance piece in the field at ‘15 untitled works in concrete’ by Donald Judd. Marfa, Texas. 2018.
Directed, composed & choreographed by Solange Knowles.
Associate Director: Carlos Soto.
Set Design: Julia Heymans.
Costume Design: Solange & Carlos Soto.
Director of Documentary: Nisa East
Cinematographer: Nisa East
2nd Unit Cinematographer: Andres Ballesteros
Director + Cinematographer: Nisa East
Co-Director: Sam Springston
Gaffer & Production Designer: Sarrah Danzig
AC: Elijah Wood
Edit: Nisa East
Acid Wash is an experiment in machismo and inhalation of hazer vapor in confined spaces. It’s very drippy.
Shot for the Backyard Film Fest in 24 Hrs.
Director / Cinematographer / Editor: Nisa East
Producer: Oliver Laughland
Production Assistant: Gigi Glenn
Revolutionary social and political artist Dread Scott initiated a re-enactment of the little-known 1811 slave rebellion in New Orleans, reviving the strength of the community as they strove towards emancipation and freedom. The performance consisted of over 300 Black and Indigenous people dressed in 19th-century clothing, travelling on horses, traversing 24 miles over two days before arriving at the destination of New Orleans. In line with Spanish philosopher George Santayana’s dictum that “those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it,” in this public performance the power of enactment told through the Black lens becomes a form of empowerment through storytelling.
Winding through old plantation country, petrochemical plants and the city of New Orleans, the Guardian followed re-enactors along the route.
In Australia a woman is murdered every 9 days by an intimate partner or ex.
1 woman every 9 days.
This is truly one of Australia’s greatest shames. Open Support has created a safe haven for domestic and family violence survivors. They work especially with women and children from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds, who face additional barriers to seeking safety. Of the women they support, almost half are on temporary visas.
Open Support are an organisation committed to acting and caring for those who are so often unseen, and to offer women & children a way out when it seems like there are none. They work to renew their trust that their future can be a happy and empowered one.
Wenceslaus “June” Provost Jr. is a fourth-generation sugarcane farmer from Louisiana. CAIN follows the Provosts and the unravelling of their livelihood in the wake of discrimination and harassment. It's a story that speaks to the wider narrative of systemic and insidious racism that exists within the American farming industry.
An independent Queer Sci-Fi Pørn shot on a micro budget. A hot and drippy collaboration with the incomparable @Wholesome__slut & @Sentient.boobs. Watch via OnlyFans.
Sex worker rights are human rights.
Direction: Sarrah Danziger
Co- Direction & Cinematography: Nisa East
Edit: Nisa East and Sarrah Danziger
Music Video for Kia Cavallaro’s new single ‘Love Eyes’
Shot entirely by the light of the full moon. New Orleans 2019.
Director + Cinematographer: Nisa East
Co-director: Sarrah Danziger.
Producer: Weenta Girmay
*Official Selection New Orleans Film Festival 2019
For Leyla McCalla’s album 'Capitalist Blues'
The overbearing, manicured hand on Leyla's face is a representation of the suffocating grasp money has on the artist, their work and it’s perceived “value”.
The 'big business men' play their shameless money games at a table, their inexhaustible greed a kind of mania that descends quickly into violence.
And the ‘Dancing Man’ - who transcends the stereotype of the ‘poor man’, pays homage to the spirit of Haitian Creole resistance, resilience and expression through music and dance.
Co-Director & Cinematographer.
An award winning short film that follows two friends, their vices, and what they each see on the horizon.
A film that picks at the scabs on the veneer of masculine confidence. A headstrong young man shares his opinion and his life story as he tries to make a living as an after-dark tour guide.
2014. Shot on a $0 budget.
Director / Camera / Edit: Nisa East
Co-director: Josh Overman
Written by: Daniel Sharkey, Josh Overman, Nisa East
Director & Cinematographer: Nisa East
A video portrait of Armina Mussa, Artist & Creative Director of Saint Heron.
A collaboration with mystic noise diva / somber siren Lucia Honey, from their 2021 album Self Help.
Video Concept & Direction: Sarrah Danziger, Lucia Honey, Nisa East.
Directors of Photography: Nisa East, Zensuke Omi
Stills credit: Nisa East
Director + DOP
Amina Deselle Massey is a health educator, researcher & medical sociologist who uses her research to create blends for therapeutic healing. This short doc was commissioned for the Antenna Signals ‘Amalgamation’ series. Shot on Fs7 w 100mm macro lens.
Director & Cinematographer: Nisa East
Commissioend by the American Theatre Wing, “In The Field” is an exploration of grassroots theatre in the American South.
The film follows The NOLA Project - a diverse collection of actors, writers, directors, designers and all-around adventurers based in New Orleans. The stories of individual company members unfold as they work together to produce an original production with limited resources, no home base, in a city overflowing with characters, conflict, and creativity.
