LACEY SCHWARTZ
Lacey Schwartz and her producing partner Mehret Mandefro are co-founders of Truth Aid, a multimedia production company that specializes in fiction and nonfiction stories about telling truths that are hard to talk about. Lacey is a Harvard trained lawyer and community outreach specialist who uses her interdisciplinary training as the foundation to approach social issues she has chosen to tackle as an artist and filmmaker. Lacey and Mehret’s work stems from a shared belief that storytelling is the most powerful tool we can use to bridge societal divides in our world. As women and people of color, Lacey and Mehret’s experiences at the so-called margins inform the narratives they tell and shape the aesthetic approach they bring to their craft. Their goal is to create art that engages the public in a deeper conversation about cultural change and challenges audiences to rethink the way we see the world. Integral to their work is the development of public engagement campaigns that engage audiences to build on lessons learned in their films from inception to impact. Lacey directed, produced and co-wrote the critically acclaimed documentary Little White Lie which was the top-rated broadcast on PBS’s Independent Lens during the 2014-2015 season. She also executive produced the narrative film Difret which was the first film to win audience awards at both the Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals. Lacey has a BA from Georgetown University and a JD from Harvard University. She is a member of the New York State bar.