Baker Artist Portfolios

Award-winning documentary filmmaker, Renee Fischer is the driving force behind Renee Fischer Films and Spring and Fall Productions. Her aim is to make people think differently and more deeply about important social issues through thoughtful and compelling narratives that highlight commonalities and ultimately lift the human spirit. She's one of those directors who can and does wear every hat when it comes to production – both shooting and editing, in addition to producing and directing, sometimes from necessity, but mostly because she has a true love for all aspects of filmmaking. She has previously won a Student Academy Award and received a regional Emmy nomination among other awards.

She is just finishing her latest independent documentary, “FORAGER,” featuring Chris Amendola, a creative force in the Baltimore restaurant world, known for using foraging and seasonal-only items to create culinary brilliance.  But in his teen years, he took a darker path which led to addiction and homelessness. This 20-minute documentary is a story of seeking, resilience, resolve, and how a true passion can save one’s life.

 

Her other most recent independent film, “Book By Its Cover,” is a 28-minute documentary that follows inmates at the Baltimore County Detention Center who participate in a reading and family reunification program that provides them the opportunity to have contact visits with their children. This film premiered on Maryland Public Television in 2021 and was nominated for a regional Emmy.

For the past 18 years, she has also led the video team for Johns Hopkins Development and Alumni Relations, creating 300+ videos sharing the impact of philanthropy across the institution’s 10 divisions. Earlier in her career, Renee had the opportunity to travel to places like Guatemala, Kosovo, and Rwanda as the director of broadcast media for Catholic Relief Services. She then immersed herself into the world of emergency medicine as an associate producer for the Discovery Health series, “The Critical Hour,” filmed at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland.

She has her MA in documentary film from Stanford University, with her thesis film, “Those Who Trespass” having won a 2003 Student Academy Award. Her undergraduate degree is from Notre Dame of Maryland University.

Her editorial and photography work has been published in a variety of print and web publications, and her independent film work has been screened at multiple film festivals including the Maryland Film Festival, Cinequest, the Docs in Progress Community Film Festival, the DC Independent Film Festival, and the United Nations Association Film Festival.

She is a founding member of the Baltimore Women's Media Alliance as well as a member of the Women in Film and Video DC and the Catonsville Women's Giving Circle.