Lee Hirsch was born and raised on Long Island, New York, and attended the Putney School in Vermont, followed by Hampshire College and the New York Film Academy. As the founder, director, and producer of the Local Voices for Obama project, Hirsch created a series of ads featuring Obama supporters in small towns in swing states, speaking candidly about their support for the candidate. This project won the Best Presidential Ad and Best Independent Expenditure at the 2009 Reed Awards, judged by notable political figures including George Stephanopolous, Joe Trippi, and Christine Todd Whitman.
As a documentary filmmaker, Hirsch's debut feature film, Amandla! a Revolution in Four Part Harmony, chronicles the history of the South African anti-apartheid struggle through a celebration of its musical heroes. The film received widespread acclaim, winning the Audience and Freedom of Expression Awards at the Sundance Film Festival, as well as one of the five Emmy awards it was nominated for, among many other honors. Financed by the Ford Foundation and HBO, Amandla! was theatrically released in the United States by Artisan/Lions Gate and has since been released in various countries worldwide.
In addition to his work on Amandla!, Hirsch directed and produced an episode of the Discovery Channel's series, Next World, a multi-part series examining what the world will look like in 30 years. He also directed and produced the History Channel special, Act of Honor, which tells the story of Rafael Peralta, a Mexican-American soldier who threw himself on a live grenade and saved the lives of several Marines during the battle of Fallujah. This film has been praised by major newspapers including The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times.
Hirsch is also an established director of music videos, with his most recent work being a narrative shot on location in Zanzibar for John Legend's song Show Me, which was nominated for a 2008 NAACP Image award. He has also received the Best Video of the Year award from the National Television and Video Association of South Africa for his work with Bongo Maffin.
Today, Hirsch resides in Brooklyn, New York.
