CJ Russo
CJ Russo is an award-winning Director-Producer of the critically acclaimed feature documentary, Lady Buds. The film opened theatrically and on demand November 2021 after an exciting festival run, and premiered on STARZ March 2022 to rave reviews securing 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. CJ earned a 2021 CLIO Award for Best Direction for the Lady Buds trailer and currently has two Lady Buds spin-offs in development — Mama Sue, a docuseries following the inspiring life journey of septuagenarian entrepreneur Sue Taylor with Village Roadshow, and a scripted feature version of the documentary film with Hellcat. She is also attached to Executive Produce the upcoming series Buck Angel’s Cannacopia with trans activist, Buck Angel at Altrd.TV.
CJ’s award-winning short films have screened all over the world, including the Sundance Film Festival, and have been broadcast on Showtime, PBS, IFC, LOGO and NETFLIX. She is a 2018 fellow of the Sundance Institute/Women In Film Financing Intensive with Lady Buds, and is also a fellow of Film Independent’s Director and Screenwriters Labs, with her project, Directed By Dorothy Arzner. Notable short film credits include, A Woman Reported, about the moments before a hate crime occurs; Size ‘em Up, a coming of age story; and Straight Down The Aisle: Confessions of Lesbian Bridesmaids, winner of the Outfest Best Short Documentary Award for its poignant view on marriage non-equality (pre-Prop 8).
After receiving two art degrees in Photography — a BFA from the University of Buffalo and MFA from the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, NY — Russo moved to Hollywood and worked for Kodak and as a Post Production Supervisor on over 15 feature films. Russo is an exhibited fine art photographer, with recent group shows in Los Angeles, West Hollywood and Beverly Hills. When not creating content, Russo spends her time climbing mountains and cycling up and down the California coast.
Pronouns: she/they
Photo - Eric Zimmerman