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Elisabeth Fies is a prolific, witty, and fearless writer, director, and producer, known for the feature thriller "The Commune," which won Best International Picture at the Bram Stoker Festival.
Despite the unfortunate timing of receiving "Best Action Screenplay" from Fade In Magazine and "Best Thriller Screenplay" from Creative Screenwriting Magazine just days before the 2007 Writers' Strike, her unproduced spaghetti western script "Pistoleras" captivated the blogosphere and continues to be her most requested screenplay.
Her specialties lie in thriller, horror, and superhero action genres. Influenced deeply by Star Wars and Twin Peaks, she often wishes she had directed "Terminator 2."
During her undergraduate years at UCLA, Elisabeth interned at Debra Hill Productions and performed stunts as monsters on The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. Supported by a prestigious Do Something grant, she created and starred in the indie TV show "Kids Know it All!" After earning her first Master’s degree in Media Studies from New School University, she returned to UCLA's esteemed Professional Program in screenwriting, where co-chair Hal Ackerman praised her as a brilliant writer.
Before launching her filmmaking career, Fies worked as an associate producer on the acclaimed no-budget film "Conventioneers," a political Romeo and Juliet story that triumphed over industry favorites "Brick" and "Puffy Chair" to win the 2006 Independent Spirit Award in the John Cassavetes category.
Coming from a family of talented artists she dubs the Tennebaums or "West Coast Sedaris clan," Elisabeth learned to read through her cartoonist brother’s Avengers comics. In 2005, Brian Fies won the first digital Eisner Award for "Mom’s Cancer," an intimate graphic novel featuring Elisabeth, their sister Brenda, Brian himself, and their late mother Barbara.
Elisabeth collaborates with her sister Brenda on film shorts. In 2010, the Fies Sisters founded BleedFest, inspired by their experience with The Commune on the festival circuit and connecting with like-minded women. BleedFest has screened over 100 films, honored the work of Anna Biller, Stacey Title, and mentor Katt Shea, and awarded Partnership Awards to male genre creators like Ryan Levin, Lucky McKee, and Drew Daywalt who craft complex female characters. Many alumni credit BleedFest with providing more press and opportunities than any other festival.
An accomplished academic, Elisabeth’s published work includes a graduate thesis on Catwoman’s feminist impact on twentieth-century pop culture. She is a rare auteur equally at ease on set and in the classrooms of her alma maters, New School and UCLA. As a founding member of the Scribosphere, she is an approachable and supportive mentor to screenwriters and DIY filmmakers, frequently participating in panels. Her work has been widely profiled by outlets such as the L.A. Times, NY Times, Huffington Post, FEARnet, and Cinematical.
Recognized as a top 10 movie reviewer by millions of Netflix subscribers for three consecutive years, Elisabeth Fies remains passionately devoted to storytelling above all else.
