Maria Luisa Gambale

As a director, she has won several awards for her film “Sarabah”, about Senegalese rapper-activist Sister Fa, which was broadcast in the U.S. and Europe, and appeared at over 40 festivals worldwide. With roots in cinematography and love for verite camera work and style, she also works as a TV non-fiction director and producer, including for National Geographic, ABC News and Fusion. She has reported frequently on women and peacekeeping, and launched a Facebook Live Q&A series with women involved in conflict resolution, in partnership with PassBlue, the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security and Women’s March Global, among others.  She is currently working as a creative producer for several documentary projects, directing a short video about an Iraqi maqam master who’s come to live in Brooklyn, and is working to develop a community-based oral and video archive of stories on the island of St. Martin. Currently based in Brooklyn, she has lived in Rome, Istanbul and Bucharest, with Boston roots. She has taught workshops around the country and mentored teen filmmakers at Reel Works in Brooklyn.