She championed documentaries and elevated them to the same stature as scripted narratives.
She has massively helped grow this industry.
That sent CNN Films SVP Courtney Sexton back to Participant, where she had worked before.
Lisa NishimuraGetty
At the time, virtually the only significant distributors of documentary content were PBS and HBO.
I definitely learned a lot from Lisa while working together with her and Adam onWinter on Fire.
We worked with her extensively onAmerican Factory.
(L-R) Lisa Nishimura, Taylor Swift and Ted Sarandos attend the Netflix 2019 Golden Globes After PartyPhoto by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for Netflix
Her knowledge of the documentary art form, its history and its potential, is extraordinary.
Her instincts are as great as her humanity, and documentary cinema needs both.
Newnham and LeBrecht added, You cant make that kind of change without respect, listening, and learning.
We are so proud of the work we did together.
The last two years, however, have witnessed Netflixs retreat from dominance in the Oscar documentary feature race.
Much of the thunder lately has been stolen by National Geographic and HBO Documentary Films.
Its surprising… NatGeo has a number of big films this year and Netflix not so much.
Nishimura also oversaw documentary series for Netflix until 2020 when she moved to the film group.
But, certainly, you cant argue with the impact it has.
I think thats shifting.
The kind of commercial pressures might narrow the space for risk-taking.
Nishimuras comment to Deadline just a year ago regarding budgets seems quaint in retrospect.
With respect to cost and value, the costs are really driven by its proportionate audience size.
Her mark will still be felt at Netflix.
Stuber, in his statement, noted her role in the upcoming narrative featuresThey Cloned Tyrone, RustinandNYAD.
And many admirers are predicting bright things in her post-Netflix future.
Recommendations wont be hard to come by.
Lisa has always been such a joy to work with, said Orlowski-Yang.
Working with her has truly been one of the highlights of the doc industry for me.
