Originally from South Africa, Blecher's family moved to Brooklyn, New York in 1981, when she was 12 years old.[1] Her family is originally of Jewish Lithuanian origin, which informs some of her work.[1] After a brief spell at Georgetown University, Blecher lived in Paris for a year and enrolled in film school upon her return to New York.[1] In 1992, shortly after graduating from New York University, she returned to South Africa.[2] She directed the documentaries Surfing Soweto and Kobus And Dumile.[3]