Netflix Vice President Lisa Nishimura Promotes Cultural Diversity

Growing up in Silicon Valley as the child of two Japanese immigrants, Netflix Vice President of Original Documentary and Comedy Lisa Nishimura already knew going into the entertainment industry the importance of showcasing original and authentic stories outside of the American norm. While her mother pursued a career as a violinist, with the lack of Asian/Asian American representation in film and television, the arts seemed almost a distant dream. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Nishimura stated that “What I do today was not even something I knew I could want to be”.

Starting in the music industry as an intern for Island Records underneath Chris Blackwell, it was here that Nishimura found the importance of unique voices. She would soon work with Blackwell at Palm Pictures and market several record labels and films from around the world, Nishimura began to question why art from outside the United States is looked at as a niche and of particular taste. She conversed with friends Ted Sarantos, now Chief Content Officer of Netflix and Cindy Holland, Vice President of Original Content at Netflix, about these concerns, when they were buying movies from Palm Pictures for Netflix in the US in the early 2000s. Before she knew it, in 2007, she was recruited to work for the streaming site, overseeing independent studio content. After narrowing her genre down to original documentaries and comedy, according to KhaleeJ Times, Nishimura has become a large advocate for more authentic unique storytelling. In her interview she stated that, “when telling great global stories, it doesn’t really matter if it’s not in your native language. What is really important is that the story is well-told and has a deep human resonance, one that people will connect with”.

Due to being both a woman and person of color, Nishimura has stated that she herself has always had a different perspective because of her intersectional experiences in American society. Therefore she empathizes closely with artists who want to share stories that really haven’t been exposed to the general public. Due to her progressive vision, productions such as Ali Wong: Hard Knock Wife and Ugly Delicious, as well as Academy Award Winner for Best Documentary Picture Icarus, were able to be funded, filmed and released. Kore Asian proclaimed her one of the most power Asian Americans in Hollywood. Now working for the world’s largest streaming service, Netflix, she is positioned to bring more cultural diversity to documentaries and comedies worldwide.

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