Kimberlee Bassford
Filmmaker Bio

Kimberlee Bassford is an award-winning documentary filmmaker from Hawai‘i who has a passion for social issue, cultural and women's stories. She produced, directed, wrote and co-edited PATSY MINK: AHEAD OF THE MAJORITY (2008), a one-hour documentary that explores the life and times of the late U.S. Representative Patsy Takemoto Mink, the first woman of color in Congress and co-author of the landmark Title IX gender equity legislation. The film aired nationally on PBS and is distributed by Women Make Movies.

Bassford was also a producer on UNNATURAL CAUSES: IS INEQUALITY MAKING US SICK? (2008), a four-hour national PBS documentary series that investigates America's socioeconomic and racial disparities in health, and THE MEANING OF FOOD (2005), a three-hour national PBS documentary series that explores the social significance of food in the United States.
 
Bassford had her directorial debut with CHEERLEADER (2003), a short documentary that follows a squad of young, bright-eyed California cheerleaders on its quest for the national cheerleading championships. The film aired on HBO Family and won the Student Academy Award in Documentary and CINE Golden Eagle. It also screened in film festivals in the U.S., Canada, Europe and New Zealand, including the Cannes Film Festival as part of the Kodak Emerging Filmmaker Showcase. The film has educational distribution through Documentary Educational Resources.

Bassford is a graduate of Punahou School and holds a BA in psychology from Harvard University and a Masters in Journalism from the University of California Berkeley. She owns Making Waves Films LLC, a documentary production company in Honolulu, and is an Entrepreneur In Residence at Punahou School's Luke Center for Public Service.

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