Elisa Gambino

Emmy®-award winning producer and director Elisa Gambino brings her journalist's eye to capturing stories that matter. In 2022, she directed WASTELAND, a CBS News docuseries for Paramount+ that examines the disastrous, and very personal, impacts of wastewater on four U.S. communities. Just a few months after it debuted, WASTELAND prompted the largest environmental justice grant in the history of New York State. This positive impact was recognized when Elisa became an 2022 honoree of the nonprofit Food and Water Watch.
Elisa made her feature-length documentary debut in 2020 with WELCOME TO PINE LAKE. The story of a small Georgia town whose self-proclaimed progressive values hide a darker truth, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution hailed it as “a scathing indictment of the privilege of obliviousness when it comes to class and race.”
Prior to making documentaries, Elisa spent her early career chronicling world events for CNN, including the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Gulf War, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the wars in Bosnia and conflict in Somalia. Her work in Somalia was recognized with a News and Documentary Emmy Award.
Since founding One Production Place in 2001, Elisa has directed award-winning shorts that examine health equity, climate change, and racial justice for foundations, non-profits and the private sector. She has also executive-produced a number of documentary shorts, including the Oscar®-nominated A LOVE SONG FOR LATASHA (2021), QUILT FEVER (2019), and OUTSPOKEN (2019).
Most recently, Elisa traveled to the Philippines to direct EVERY DAY AFTER a documentary short supported by Smile Train. The film is about a sister who takes in her neglected and traumatized younger brother, and raises him with her own small children. Her determination to care for her brother with unconditional love demonstrates the power of acceptance to heal even the deepest wounds. The film was honored with 6 Best Documentary Short awards.