Russell Leigh Sharman is a writer, filmmaker and anthropologist. He received his PhD in cultural anthropology from Oxford University in 1999 and is the author of two books, THE TENANTS OF EAST HARLEM and NIGHTSHIFT NYC (with his wife, Cheryl Harris Sharman). He has published and presented numerous essays on urban life, culture and aesthetics, and received grants and awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Whiting Foundation and others. His first stage play, SMALL OF HER BACK, was produced in New York City by Jaradoa Theater Company in 2008. That same year, his screenplay, BOBBIE SUE, won a spot on the coveted Hollywood Blacklist. He has since worked as a writer-for-hire for several studios, including Warner Bros., Fox and Disney. He has also directed two feature films, including an adaptation of his play SMALL OF HER BACK and QUIMBY REMAINS, a road comedy now in post-production. He lives in Brooklyn where he is associate professor of anthropology at Brooklyn College and a member of the Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective.