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Lisa Cortés has been navigating the entertainment industry for more than twenty years. She worked at Def Jam during the hip-hop label's early days in the 80s. She cofounded a company with Russell Simmons that represented music producers. She even started her own record label.

Eventually the Yale graduate turned her talents towards film, officially entering the game as an assistant to director Lee Daniels during the making of Monster's Ball. Since then, her producer credits have included The Woodsman and Shadowboxer. Now, she's traveling around the world promoting her new project, Precious, the emotionally-charged film that she executive produced.

Books on the Root talked with Cortés about the representation of black women in film, healing, and the work of Octavia Butler.

Books on the Root: Tell me about Precious.
Lisa Cortés: Precious was a very political and personal film for me to make. It was political because so many of the issues, from literacy to overall neglect and sexual abuse are so prevalent in the film but not talked about or addressed actively as they should be. The film has provided a tremendous forum for healing and discussion.

It was personal because as a black woman, I don't see myself when I go to the movies. I don't see the beauty and range of our journeys. Not everyone in Precious is good; there are bad people; there are people who transform. There is a range of black women in Precious from Mo'Nique to Paula [Patton] to Gabby [Sidibe] to Mariah [Carey] to Sherri [Shepherd] that shows a full spectrum of who we are. When's the last time we could go to the movies and see ourselves in such complexity and handled with such intelligence?

Read the entire interview.

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