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Elena Neuman Lefkowitz is an independent documentary filmmaker based in New York City. Her company, NeumanFILMS, produces films primarily for non-profit cultural and educational organizations and for individuals. Elena's film about four Holocaust survivors in Connecticut, People Forget, New Haven Remembers, was broadcast on Connecticut Public Television in 2020 and is currently streaming on PBS. Wishmakers, co-produced/directed with HQ Creative, and currently in theatrical release, is a film about an award-winning Israeli wine produced by mentally handicapped adults. It is a story of individuals doing for others within the range of their abilities. The film has won the International Gold Medal from the World Humanitarian Awards, an award of merit at IndieFEST, and is a selection for the Women Only Entertainment Film Festival. Blind Ascent, a film about a vision-impaired IDF sharpshooter, is currently in production. Elena has produced films for many organizations, such as Cornell Hillel, JOFA, the Ramaz School, Maharat and the Zamir Choral Foundation, among others.  

 

Previously, Elena worked as an associate producer at Manifold Productions, a Washington, DC-based film company, where she worked on three films for PBS: The Fall of Newt Gingrich, Rediscovering George Washington, and God and the Inner City. Before transitioning into film, she worked as a writer for The Washington Times, where she wrote features for the Sunday magazine section, Insight on the News.

 

Elena brings a trained historian's and journalist's eye to her films. Elena is a graduate of Cornell University with a degree in history. She continued her graduate history studies at Oxford and Yale. She also attended the New York Film Academy.

 

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