Lisa Kannakko

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT LISA KANNAKKO

Lisa Kannakko is a Canadian/American producer, director, and photographer with 25+ years of experience across film, music, and photography. She began documenting Toronto’s late-1990s music scene while touring with artists including Peaches, Chilly Gonzales, and Feist; her archival footage from that era later appeared in the 2024 documentary Teaches of Peaches. She went on to found the Belljar Café, a Toronto cultural hub, while building a thriving career as a freelance and fashion photographer. Her work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Toronto Life, Time, The Walrus, and Maclean’s, and she has produced live performance and editorial content for CBC Music Canada.Lisa holds an MFA in Documentary Film, and a BAA in Photographic Arts. Her short documentary Glad You’re Here (2019) received multiple awards, including Best Documentary at the UK Short Film Festival and Best Cinematography at the Canadian Cinematography Awards. In 2024, she received the MVP Prism Prize for producing Sara Sloan’s music video Hunted.She has produced short-form comedy and genre work including Gourmade (2024), which screened at the New York Shorts International Film Festival, and Weeds (2025), premiering at the Blood in the Snow Film Festival. She also created and produced the 36-episode music series Live at the Belljar (2013–2016) and founded Open Show Toronto, curating 138 artist projects between 2014 and 2019.Lisa is currently developing a slate of cross-platform stories—including feature films, series, and a graphic novel—alongside long-form, research-driven documentary projects grounded in ethical, consent-based interviews and careful listening.