Roski Talks: Lizzie Borden

ABOUT LIZZIE BORDEN

Lizzie Borden is a writer, director, editor, script consultant and political activist. Her film, Born in Flames, has been called one of “The Hundred Most Significant Political Films Of All Time” by The New Republic. In 2016, Born In Flames was restored by the Anthology Film Archives and has screened around the world in over 100 festivals, taught in many sex and gender classes around the world and written about extensively. It has been called by New Yorker critic Richard Brody “a feminist masterpiece” and one of the most important political films of all time by TCM. A blu ray was released by Criterion films in September 2025.

Borden also wrote, directed, and produced a controversial independent fiction film Working Girls, depicting the working lives of prostitutes, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in the Director's Fortnight. It won best Feature at the Sundance Film Festival and was restored by Criterion films in 2021; Criterion released a blu ray in 2022. In 2023, Anthology Film Archives restored Borden’s long-unseen first film, Regrouping, an experimental documentary about women’s groups, which Melissa Anderson called “combative, entropic, mesmerizing” in Four Columns, 2022. Borden also published an anthology in 2022, WHOREPHOBIA: Strippers on Art, Work and Life, published by Seven Stories Press, described as “a gorgeously done collection of all things stripping and sex work told by those who know it best.” Borden is currently working on several film projects.

ABOUT ROSKI TALKS

The USC Roski School’s Roski Talks lecture series offers engaging weekly presentations from leading visual artists, design innovators, scholars, performance artists, architects, and other influential figures throughout the academic year. These events are a popular among the Roski community and frequently attract members of the public.

Held in an intimate setting, Roski Talks encourage audience participation and open dialogue. Each session concludes with lively group discussions and Q&A opportunities.

Event Venue

USC Roski Graduate Building, 1262 Palmetto Street, Los Angeles, United States