alive!

Kristine Stolakis — Director
Kristine Stolakis is an Emmy-nominated director whose critically-acclaimed films wrestle with mental health, prejudice, and coming-of-age. Her debut feature documentary PRAY AWAY (Netflix 2021), on the history and devastating legacy of the ‘pray the gay away’ movement, was nominated for an Emmy, Critics Choice Award, and GLAAD Media Award. The film was chosen as one of the 10 Critics’ Picks of Tribeca and SXSW in The Hollywood Reporter and cited as “one of the most important films of the year.” PRAY AWAY was executive produced by Blumhouse and Ryan Murphy, and received support from the Tribeca Film Institute, Catapult Film Fund, Sundance Institute, Chicken and Egg Pictures, SFFilm, and Cinereach.

She is now in post-production on her sophomore feature documentary alive! (working title) as well as developing her debut fiction feature project with award-winning journalist and New York Times Magazine writer Jaeah Lee. In 2021, Kristine was named one of DOC NYC’s “40 Under 40. She is a two-time recipient of SFFILM’s artist residency where she recently served as a creative advisor. Previous to directing feature films, she produced ATTLA (PBS Independent Lens) and directed five short films. One was nominated for a Student BAFTA, and two were Vimeo Staff Picks. Kristine has taught undergraduate film classes at Stanford University and the University of San Francisco, and currently teaches at Hunter College in New York City. She is a member of the Documentary Producers Alliance and was a founding member of the Video Consortium’s Bay Area chapter. Kristine holds an MFA in Documentary Film from Stanford University, proudly hails from North Carolina and central New York, and spends some of the most fulfilling parts of her day raising her bright, beautiful three-year-old daughter. Kristine runs Lamplighter Films, a small but mighty production company, named after her childhood street, because she believes that the seeds of great ideas come from our own backyards.