Jan Lisa Huttner was born and raised in New Jersey, where Million Dollar Movie and The Late Late Show were daily television staples & she and her dad would snuggle up to historical epics and Roman spectaculars featured on Picture for a Sunday Afternoon. At an early age when most kids were sneaking into parties, Jan was sneaking into Manhattan movie theaters to see any film that would have her: documentaries, indies or foreign films.
Jan received her BA from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland (the “Great Books” school) and has Masters degrees in Psychology from Harvard University & the University of Chicago.
After working for two decades as a computer consultant serving the healthcare industry, Jan returned to her love of film. She created Films for Two with her husband Rich, whom she met at school at the University of Chicago, and continued to expand her business into what has become FF2 Media.
In addition to her work as a film critic, Jan is also an award-winning author and activist, co-founder of International SWAN Day, and creative force behind WITASWAN (Women in the Audience Supporting Women Artists Now). In 2011, she published her first book. “Penny’s Picks: 50 Films by Women Filmmakers 2002-2011,” a compilation of 50 of her reviews from various publications.
In 2014, Jan published Tevye’s Daughters: No Laughing Matter to honor the 50th anniversary of Fiddler on the Roof’s Broadway debut, followed by the 2016 publication of Diamond Fiddler: Laden with Happiness & Tears. She examines the “synergies” that account for Fiddler on the Roof’s extraordinary longevity, from its phenomenal—and unexpected—success in 1964 to its continued resonance today.
Currently based in Brooklyn, New York, Jan devotes herself full-time to FF2 Media where she serves as Editor-in-Chief.
Photo Credits
Top Photo: Jan Lisa Huttner (Photo Credit: Ellen Tejle)
Bottom Photo: Fort Clatsop was the winter encampment on the Pacific Ocean (Dec 1805–Mar 1806) = last stop for the Lewis & Clark Expedition before they headed home, & also the western edge of our 2016 summer vacation.
