Emmy Award-Winning Filmmaker, Speaker
and Educator
Photo by Jasmine Rossabout
Luchina Fisher is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, educator and speaker on a mission to tell stories that move the world. She won a 2024 Daytime Emmy for The Dads (Netflix) and sits on the board of New York Women in Film and Television. She also teaches documentary filmmaking at Wesleyan University.
An Army kid who grew up between Texas, Germany and North Carolina, Luchina learned early to navigate different worlds — and find the stories that connect us. She studied journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill and film in England as a Rotary Scholar. After losing her mother to breast cancer and her brother to AIDS, storytelling became a tool for advocacy and healing.
Luchina began her career as a journalist, writing for the Miami Herald, People, The Oprah Magazine and ABC News, and was a 2026 inductee into the North Carolina Media & Journalism Hall of Fame. As a filmmaker, her work explores race, gender and identity and has appeared on Netflix, Hulu, PBS, History, ESPN, BET and in theaters, classrooms, festivals and companies around the world. Her honors include a GLAAD Special Recognition Award, Roger Ebert’s Golden Thumb Award and numerous festival prizes.
A proud mom of three, Luchina is a sought-after speaker and educator. She previously taught film at Yale and Fairfield University and is committed to guiding the next generation of storytellers.
filmmaker
As the mother of a transgender child and sister to gay and queer siblings, Luchina brings a deep personal commitment to building a more just, loving and inclusive world through film.
Her work includes the Emmy Award-winning short documentary The Dads (Netflix) and the feature documentary follow-up of the same name (SXSW, 2026), both executive produced by Dwyane Wade; her feature directorial debut Mama Gloria (PBS), nominated for a 2022 GLAAD Media Award; her short documentary Team Dream (BET), executive produced by Queen Latifah; and Locked Out, the Best Documentary Feature at the American Black Film Festival. Her latest project, celebrating Black queer contributions to music, won the 2023 and 2026 PitchBLACK Film Forums.
Luchina approaches filmmaking with a journalist’s integrity and a storyteller’s heart and is committed to building diverse creative teams and centering underrepresented voices. Her work spans broadcast and streamers, independent shorts and features, brand and non-profit videos and impact campaigns with organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign and The Ali Forney Center. Luchina has received support from Firelight Media, Chicken & Egg, Tribeca Studios, The Gotham, Sisters in Cinema, Black Public Media, Elevate Studios and more.
speaker
Luchina is a sought-after speaker who brings her personal journey – from journalist to mother of three to Emmy Award-winning filmmaker – into every room she enters. She speaks with heart and clarity about the power of authentic storytelling, the drive to create purposefully, and the tools to keep dreams alive at any stage of life.
After years of telling other people’s stories, Luchina now shares her own – offering practical strategies for finding your voice, overcoming obstacles, creating with intention, and staying inspired. Whether in person or virtually, she blends moving personal narrative with clips from her award-winning films to spark connection and action.
Luchina’s talks are honest, empowering and deeply human. She creates space for self-reflection while challenging audiences to think bigger – about their work, their purpose and the stories we choose to tell.
Her clients include Nike, Capital One, Hermès, VMware, Duke Energy, BMO Wealth Management, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, as well as law firms, universities, conferences, nonprofits, and filmmaker and community groups.
select press
For some parents of trans kids, leaving America no longer feels unthinkable
June 10, 2026, by Christopher Wiggins, READ
The Dads Captures Families Fighting for Trans Youth
May 28, 2026, by Michael Robinson, READ
From Franklin Street to Film: How Chapel Hill Shaped Luchina Fisher’s Voice
May 19, 2026, by Laurie Paolicelli, READ
‘Proudly Claiming Our Tears’: Fathers Stand Together for Their Trans and Nonbinary Kids
March 31, 2026, by Kit O’Connell, READ
SXSW 2026 - The Dads and Adam's Apple
April 6, 2026, by Staff, READ
The Dads’ Review: Fathers of Trans Kids Support and Advise One Another in an Accessible and Moving Doc
March 20, 2026, by Leslie Felperin, READ
SXSW Review: ‘The Dads’ Documentary Covers a Different Side in the Fight for Trans Rights
March 23, 2026, by Megan McLachlan, READ
How Luchina Fisher's Award-Winning Trans Rights Short Became A Dwyane Wade-Produced Critical Sensation
March 18, 2026, by Tatiana Hullender, READ
7 unmissable films from South by Southwest 2026
March 18, 2026, by Laura Pitcher, READ
Interview: Luchina Fisher on Returning to a Topic More Relevant Now Than Ever with Her Feature Documentary ‘The Dads’
March 14, 2026, by Abe Friedtanzer, READ
What to watch at SXSW - part three
March 17, 2026, READ
The Dads’ Review: A Touching Look At Children In Transition And The Fathers Who Support Them [SXSW]”
March 14, 2026, by Brian Farvour, READ
SXSW 2026: Adam’s Apple, The Dads, Your Attention Please”
March 14, 2026, by Brian Tallerico, READ
Dwyane Wade on ‘The Dads’, Raising a Trans Kid and the “Superhero Stuff” of NBA Records
March 13, 2026, by Seth Abramovitch, READ
Dialogue with the Dean
Feb 24, 2025 by Northwestern School of Communication, READ
Daytime Emmys 2024 Full Winners List
June 7, 2024 by Michael Schneider, READ
CAA signs ‘The Dads’ Filmmaker Luchina Fisher
Nov 13, 2023 by Matt Grobar, READ
Shortlist 2023: In ‘Team Dream’ Luchina Fisher Shines a Light on 2 ‘Incredible, Strong’ Older Black Women Swimmers
July 3, 2023 by Missy Schwartz, READ
This Moving New Netflix Doc is a Must-Watch for All Parents
Nov 17, 2023 by Tyler Santora, READ
Netflix Acquires Luchina Fisher’s Docu Short ‘The Dads’; Dwyane Wade among the EPs on “Love Letter” from Fathers to their LGBTQ+ Children
June 16, 2023 by Matt Grobar, READ
Ebertfest 2023 Recap: A Photo Journal
April 25, 2023 by Chaz Ebert, READ
Matthew Shepard’s Father Takes Fishing Trip with Dads of Trans Kids - and They Have a Message for the Nation
March 23, 2023 by Kristen O’Brien, READ
Luchina Fisher on Her Captivating Short Subject ‘Team Dream’
Feb 28, 2023 by Rebecca Martin, READ
The Women of ‘Team Dream’ Will Inspire You to No End
Sept 23, 2022 by Cortney Willis, READ
Gloria Allen, Transgender Activist Who Ran a Charm School, Dies at 76
June 24, 2022 by Alex Williams, READ
Trans Activist Mama Gloria On Her Charm School for LGBTQ Kids: ‘I Wanted to Teach Them to Be Proud
June 6, 2021 by Liz McNeil, READ
Mama Gloria Paved the Way for Trans Youth
June 8, 2021 by Now This, WATCH
Chicago’s Own Mama Gloria, the Subject of a Bold New Documentary, Is Proud and Trans Even in Her 70s
April 5, 2021 by Ronda Racha Penrice, READ
As transgender people mark deadliest year on record, one elder fights for the living
Nov 20, 2020 by Kate Sosin, READ
Q&A: Luchina Fisher on Her Trans Inclusive Documentary, Parenting and LGBTQ Allyship
Oct 15, 2020 by Clare Kenny, READ
