---
name: "Lisa Cholodenko"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/lisa-cholodenko"
fi1m_id: "lisa-cholodenko"
imdb_id: "nm0158966"
tmdb_id: 75699
wikidata_id: "Q258525"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "5 June 1964"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 85
average_as: "director"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-09-17T13:46:50.498751+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Lisa Cholodenko

## Identity

Lisa Cholodenko

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/lisa-cholodenko
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** lisa-cholodenko
- **IMDb ID:** nm0158966
- **TMDB ID:** 75699
- **Wikidata ID:** Q258525
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Cholodenko, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q258525, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0158966/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/75699

Director. Born 5 June 1964 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 5 June 1964, Los Angeles, California, USA
- **Active:** 1993–2019
- **Frequently works with:** [Alan Taylor](https://film.one/person/alan-taylor.md), [Kathy Bates](https://film.one/person/kathy-bates.md), [Mary Harron](https://film.one/person/mary-harron.md), [Miguel Arteta](https://film.one/person/miguel-arteta.md)
- **Primetime Emmy Awards:** 1 Emmy (1 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 85, as director, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 89 (1), 2000s 86 (1), 2010s 83 (3)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 85 to 84 across 5 titles
- **Score spread:** 5 at 80+, 0 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 5, Crime 2, Comedy 1, Mystery 1
- **Screen time:** 2 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $35m across 1 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Cholodenko, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q258525, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0158966/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/75699

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*Six Feet Under*](https://film.one/tv/six-feet-under.md) (86), [*Olive Kitteridge*](https://film.one/tv/olive-kitteridge.md) (84)
- **Netflix:** [*Unbelievable*](https://film.one/tv/unbelievable.md) (85)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Lisa Cholodenko

> Lisa Cholodenko makes films about queer lives and difficult families, giving actors room to make their complications felt. We rate her attention to emotional detail, and her willingness to let sexuality be one part of a character.

A lesbian couple and their family are enough to occupy *The Kids Are All Right* (2010); Cholodenko does not need to make sexuality their only subject. She is interested in the complications of living closely with other people, and she gives actors room to make those complications felt. We rate that attention to performance. It allows queer characters to have lives beyond explaining who they are.

*Six Feet Under* (2001), for which she directed episodes, offers a useful measure of both the appeal and the risk of spending so much time with difficult families. We were moved by the Fishers’ grief because the ensemble makes room for comedy without making their pain seem trivial. They are exhausting company, but the sharp acting earns the hours spent with them. The series also lets its brooding become an indulgence, and we sometimes wished it would get on with things. We are judging the whole programme here, not assigning every strength or weakness to one of its directors.

Her features began with *High Art* (1998), which she wrote and directed, followed by *Laurel Canyon* (2002), about generational and cultural clashes in Los Angeles. *The Kids Are All Right* marked the breakthrough; intimate relationships remained her chief subject. Her collaborators include screenwriter Stuart Blumberg and actor Frances McDormand. The work is worth following for the actors, particularly when Cholodenko has an ensemble to work with.

The later move into limited series suits that patience with character. The four-part *Olive Kitteridge* (2014) gives her space to balance several perspectives and changes of tone. On *Unbelievable* (2019), she directed the first three episodes and served as executive producer. Longer storytelling is no automatic advantage, as our reservations about *Six Feet Under* suggest. Start with *The Kids Are All Right* for the performances; tolerance for difficult family company will also serve you well.

## Biography

Lisa Cholodenko is an American film and television director and screenwriter. She directed an episode of the HBO series *Six Feet Under* in 2001.

She wrote and directed the feature films *High Art* (1998), *Laurel Canyon* (2002) and *The Kids Are All Right* (2010). Her television work includes directing episodes of *Homicide: Life on the Street*, *The L Word*, *Hung* and *The Girl from Plainville*, as well as the miniseries *Olive Kitteridge* (2014) and *Unbelievable* (2019).

Cholodenko studied at San Francisco State University and received an MFA from Columbia University. She has received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations, and won an Emmy Award and a Directors Guild of America Award.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (5)

- *Unbelievable* (2019), Fi1m 85, Director, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/unbelievable.md)
- *Olive Kitteridge* (2014), Fi1m 84, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/olive-kitteridge.md)
- *The Kids Are All Right* (2010), Fi1m 80, Director, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-kids-are-all-right.md)
- *Six Feet Under* (2001), Fi1m 86, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/six-feet-under.md)
- *Homicide: Life on the Street* (1993), Fi1m 89, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/homicide-life-on-the-street.md)

## Complete filmography (18)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Petrol* (2023), Thanks
- *The Girl from Plainville* (2022), series, Director
- *Unbelievable* (2019), series, Director, Executive Producer — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/tv/unbelievable.md)
- *Here and Now* (2018), series, Director
- *The Slap* (2015), series, Director, Executive Producer
- *Olive Kitteridge* (2014), series, Director — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/olive-kitteridge.md)
- *The Kids Are All Right* (2010), Director, Writer — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/the-kids-are-all-right.md)
- *Hung* (2009), series, Director
- *Cavedweller* (2004), Director
- *The L Word* (2004), series, Director
- *Laurel Canyon* (2003), Director, Screenplay
- *Six Feet Under* (2001), series, Director — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/tv/six-feet-under.md)
- *High Art* (1998), Writer, Director
- *Dinner Party* (1997), Writer, Editor, Director
- *Prime Time* (1997), Grip
- *Homicide: Life on the Street* (1993), series, Director — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/tv/homicide-life-on-the-street.md)
- *Rita*, Director
- *Beautiful*, Writer, Director

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 2011: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated), for *The Kids Are All Right*

### Primetime Emmy Awards — 1 won

- 2015: Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special (won), for *Olive Kitteridge*

### Other awards — 1 won

- Dorothy Arzner Directors Award 2010: Dorothy Arzner Directors Award (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/lisa-cholodenko