Filmmakers

Ellen Harris (also credited as Ellen Walters) is an educator and filmmaker whose 30-year career includes academic administration, curriculum development, teaching, and mentoring. An honors graduate of Rhodes College in Memphis (BA Anthropology/Sociology), she holds the MFA in Communications/Media (Concentration in Film) from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her documentary filmmaking explores the backroads of North Carolina and probes the human heart, including narratives of a disabled teacher, a rural student, and a perceptive family elder. An award-winning independent producer whose works gained recognition at festivals in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, Ellen’s documentaries have been broadcast on PBS. She is a NC Humanities Council grant recipient for projects supporting gifted and talented education and diversity in education. The Firehouse Women was funded in part by a Folklife Documentary Grant from the NC Arts Council, and was produced in association with PBS NC. Based in Asheville, NC, Ellen offers private instruction and often travels to offer mobile entertainment services (www.rountreeproductions.com). In an earlier life, she worked on several features and commercials, ran a fine art gallery, survived a Category 5 hurricane, and volunteered in research and historic preservation in her hometown of New Orleans. Ellen loves music, writing, the arts, and most anything outdoors.