Liz Lachman: I'm a Sword and Sorcery Passionista

We are beyond excited that, once again, our idea to have our interviewees nominate another Passionista really paid off. We are so fortunate that Chef Susan Feniger introduced us to her equally talented wife, filmmaker and Emmy-winning musician and composer, Liz Lachman. Liz and her adorable dogs welcomed us into their home for the interview and as soon as we walked through the front door we thought she was the greatest. But once we realized that she shared our love of puppets, we knew we’d made a new friend. A true creative force, Liz started performing professionally at 15 singing with a big band in Detroit. As she told us during her interview, she didn’t really fit in with her peers, who were all listening to rock and roll while she thought Led Zeppelin was a person. “But I knew who George Benson was, the jazz guitarist, before he ever sang ‘Masquerade.’ So they didn’t know that. But, yeah, there was a little bit of a divide there.” She continued to blaze her own trail, foregoing her father’s advice to have a fall back when she told him she was going to pursue a career in music. The gamble paid off and Liz went on to have a successful run as a musician, composer and music editor — earning an Emmy Award, a Golden Reel Award and a BMI TV Music Award. A natural born storyteller, Liz ultimately turned to filmmaking and, not surprisingly, thrived in that field as well. Her first short comedic film, Getting to Know You, starring Dana Delaney, Ian Gomez, and Elizabeth Keener, won nine film festivals, was selected by LOGO’s Best in Short Series and screened at 90 festivals worldwide. Her latest project, Pin-Up, takes a deeper dive into the mind of a female photographer who meets a mysterious woman. It premiered at the Outshine Film Festival in Miami and is currently on the festival circuit.

It’s impossible to say what’s to come for Liz because she has so many ideas. “There are a million stories. I’ve got three or four things I want to work on at once. I don’t know what to choose next. That’s been my biggest problem.” We can’t wait to see them all. To listen to our conversation with Liz Lachman go to The Passionistas Project Podcast. To learn more about her projects visit her website and check out the Pin-Up trailer here.