Today we’d like to introduce you to Lee Broda.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Lee. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
I moved to Los Angeles from Israel at the age of 19 after finishing my military service to volunteer and teach dance. I got accepted into a dance company while also looking for a school to train at as an actress.
Starting out as an actress, I realized that creating my own opportunities was going to be an essential part of my growth in Hollywood. After school, I started working in casting to learn more about behind the camera. For two years I cast different features and shorts until I met with a producer at a casting session I was running and began working for him. I began as an intern, which is where I learned how to raise money and analyze finance plans while still being creative, reading scripts, watching edits, and sometimes still casting.
I went on my own and started my company, LB Entertainment, which I founded at 27. LB Entertainment specializes in developing, financing, and producing independent films. The company has now gone on to produce over 30 feature films, including Michael Almereyda’s Experimenter (starring Peter Sarsgaard and Winona Ryder); The Trust (Nicolas Cage, Elijah Wood); The Forgiven (Forest Whitaker, Eric Bana).
LB Entertainment’s films have premiered in the world’s top film festivals including Sundance, Venice, Toronto, Tribeca, SXSW, BFI, and New York Film Festival and have been distributed worldwide, garnering international recognition and winning many awards.
The company’s most recent films include: The Pretenders, We Summon The Darkness, The Kindergarten Teacher, and A Private War, the latter of which received two Golden Globe nominations this past award season. Due to the lack of female directors, writers, and financiers in the industry, I decided to take a stand and my organization, ‘Women Creating Change’, was born. www.womencreatingchange.com.
During the two years ‘Women Creating Change’ has been in operation, a lot of friendships and collaborations have flourished between Israeli and Arab women, although not without difficulties. Through the work, I aided in overcoming these obstacles and brought women from a variety of different backgrounds together through their shared passion for film.
For 2019, I currently have six films in the pipeline. Driveways premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and was voted among the top ten films to see. Axis Sally, starring Al Pacino, tells the story of an American woman, Mildred Gillars, who broadcasted Nazi propaganda during WWII. The story plunges the viewer into the dark underbelly of the Third Reich’s hate-filled propaganda machine, Axis’ eventual capture and treason trial in Washington D.C. following the war.
Big Gold Brick, starring Oscar Isaac; Tesla, starring Ethan Hawke, and Tale of the Wet Dog are among the other productions I’m excited to work on this year. The Informer, starring Rosamund Pike and Clive Owen will be released internationally this summer. I also published my first poetry book last December called Whispers From The Moon. I’m currently working on the next one: Facing North.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Those first few years were challenging, as I had to learn some lessons the hard way. I didn’t get credits when I was promised them–sometimes I wasn’t paid in full or at all. I had to fight to sit at the table next to the men in the room, learn how to negotiate, and even walk away from deals.
There are many more stories I can share.
Please tell us about LB Entertainment.
I shared that in the first part, regarding my company and what I do and specialize in.
LB Entertainment’s films have premiered in the world’s top film festivals including Sundance, Venice, Toronto, Tribeca, SXSW, BFI, and New York Film Festival and have been distributed worldwide, garnering international recognition, and winning many awards.
I’m most proud of the fact that I stuck to my voice, my dreams, and vision even when things were really difficult. There are a lot of movies I’m super proud of that I had to fight for, for months. Movies that make a difference for people: move them, speak to them, and, hopefully, inspire them.
I’m also really proud of Women Creating Change, I see the power of community, and it inspires me everyday.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Friday dinners at my grandma’s with my entire family- about 20 of us. I loved how loud the dinners were and the fact that we shared them together every weekend as a family. No one was allowed to skip it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.leebroda.com and www.womencreatingchange.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: leebroda
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lee-Broda-125311047515668/?ref=bookmarks
- Twitter: Lee Broda
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