Donna Deitch is a filmmaker who has worked in television, narrative cinema and documentary. She received her undergraduate degree in political science from UC Berkeley at a moment when the campus was becoming a hub for political activism and discourse, an experience that clearly informed her approach to filmmaking. Deitch attended graduate school at UCLA and completed her thesis film WOMAN TO WOMAN: A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT HOOKERS, HOUSEWIVES AND OTHER MOTHERS in 1975. While at UCLA Deitch had the opportunity to collaborate with students enrolled in the University's Ethno-communications program including Charles Burnett and Duane Kubo, with whom she co-directed CITY CITY (1974), a film distributed by Visual Communications.

In 1976 Deitch cofounded the Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) alongside muralist Judith Baca and painter Christina Schlesinger, an organization committed to the production, education and preservation of public art. Her 1978 documentary THE GREAT WALL OF LOS ANGELES was completed in conjunction with this project and documents the creation of Baca's titular mural.

In 1986 she directed the award-winning, lesbian romance DESERT HEARTS which led to her work on the Emmy nominated "The Women of Brewster Place." She frequently works in television and has directed episodes of "Grey's Anatomy," "NYPD Blue" and "ER." In 2008 she received Outfest’s career achievement award.

[Source: Alison Kozberg]