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WOMEN & FASHION FILMFEST
& SHE WEBFEST LIVE IN NYC
NOV 12-14 2015
PANELS
SEAPORT STUDIOS
NOV 13 NYC
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SYMPHONY SPACE
NOV 14 NYC
VIP RED CARPET
SEAPORT STUDIOS
NOV 12 NYC
LIMITED ENTRY
LIVE & ONLINE - A UNIQUE FESTIVAL SHINING A LIGHT ON WOMEN
KIBI ANDERSON
Kibi Anderson joined ABC News Digital as the Senior Manager of Business Strategy & Operations in 2013. She oversees the development and implementation of business operations, strategies, priorities, and practices to help improve overall efficiency, productivity, workflow, and financial growth within the group.
Kibi is also an Emmy-Award winning film producer, and produced a variety of short and long-form content under her independent production company banner Key Bee Entertainment. Some of her other past credits include the Emmy-Award winning documentary The Mighty Warriors Of Comedy, Universal Remote, a sketch comedy feature film; Animal Story, a short film; Hatest Grits, a live sketch comedy concert; and Cuba Libre, a film shot in the Dominican Republic.
She is the former VP/Community Development Manager at Broadway Federal Bank the largest minority owned bank on the west coast, where she managed all Community Development related initiatives on behalf of the bank, and helped found their media finance practice. She has also worked for Citigroup, Indomitable Entertainment, and the Monitor Company, where she honed her skills in investment banking, strategy, consulting, and business development/sales.
Born in Seattle, Washington, Kibi Anderson was featured in Fortune Magazine in 2000 as a top talent to watch in the coming years. She received her MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business and is a Cum Laude graduate of Harvard University, where she earned a BA degree in East Asian Studies, becoming fluent in Japanese.
CHRISTOPHER AUSTOPCHUK
Christoper Austopchuk is Co-Founder & Editor In Chief of Spirit & Flesh Magazine. He has spent more than 30 years in the music and creative industries, and has worked on projects with artists as varied as Jennifer Lopez, Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, Marc Anthony, Mick Jagger, Jeff Buckley, Julio Iglesias, Billy Joel, and many others. A co-founder and Executive Creative Director of the Arcade Creative Group, he has worked with clients such as Fanta, American Express, and the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). In the past he has also worked for Conde Nast Publishers, and Rolling Stone Magazine. He is the winner of over 400 professional awards. Christopher is also a design professor at The School of Visual Arts.
In 2012, he co-founded Spirit & Flesh fashion and art magazine, for which he serves as Publisher and Editor-In-Chief. The publication aligns the art of fashion with film, painting, dance, photography and other media, underscoring their powerful cultural influences.
ALVA CHINN
Alva Chinn continues to reinvent herself. Firstly, known as an international model and global traveler. Alva continues to follow her passions. She is both a yoga practitioner and instructor, an actress and voice-over artist, an avid researcher on health and aging and a blogger on living fully and a volunteer.
PAT CLEVELAND
Pat Cleveland is an international modeling icon. She has worked for the most prestigious fashion designers including, Armani, Halston, Stephen Burrows and Valentino, both on and off the runway. Ms. Cleveland has also been seen in the work of important photographers including Avedon, Helmut Newton, Horst and Steven Meisel. Throughout her illustrious career, Pat has appeared on the pages of the world’s most prestigious fashion publications such as, Ebony, Essence, Interview, W Magazine and Vogue. Her beauty has not been overlooked by the art world, as she has posed for some of the greatest artists including Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali.
As a Fashion Ambassador, Ms. Cleveland has traveled extensively representing the United States and the United Kingdom on trips to China, Italy and Russia. In 1989, Pat represented the city of Barcelona as a fashion icon for the Summer Olympics in Spain. Recently, she was the recipient of the “The Thurgood Marshall Award” as a Fashion Icon and was honored at the Fashion Institute of Technology as a Fashion Innovator.
In addition to modeling, Pat has performed, sang and danced on stage in Let My People Come
on Broadway. She has also acted in several foreign films including Rio Babilônia (Brazil), Iago Shakespeare (Italy), Sotto il vestito niente (Italy) and Hair, The Musical (Mexico); and has appeared in cameo parts for The Devil Wears Prada, Sex and the City: The Movie. Pat has also appeared on television shows including America’s Next Top Model and Naomi Campbell’s The Face. Additionally, she has been featured in numerous documentaries including Ultrasuede: In Search for Halston, Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s, Versailles 73: American Runway Revolution, and About Face: Supermodels, Then and Now. A superstar in Italy, Pat has recorded original lyrics written for Joe T. Vanelli and published a book of poems, In The Spirit of Grace, also published in English. Pat resides in the US and is currently focusing on writing her autobiography. She lives with her husband, Paul van Ravenstein.
YELENA DEYNEKO
Yelena Deyneko is Co-Founder & Creative Director of Spirit & Flesh Magazine. Yelena studied classical arts, theater and fashion design in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and graphic design at School of Visual Arts in New York City. Combining her talents and passions, Yelena works as a Creative Director in fashion, beauty, and entertainment, collaborating with agencies and private clients on creating their visual, branding and marketing content, winning them multiple professional awards.
In 2012 she co-founded Spirit & Flesh fashion and art magazine, where she is a Principal and Creative Director. The publication aligns the art of fashion with film, painting, dance, photography and other media, underscoring its powerful cultural influences.
MONICA ELIAS
At the helm of Elias World Media is founder Monica Elias, a top media strategist and content production expert guiding the way to help companies in their effort to raise brand visibility and engage key audiences and influencers in the marketplace. She has advised brands and their agency partners in how to effectively connect with their consumers and promote their products using branded content across television, radio, and the Internet
Elias has built a reputation for her astute multimedia planning and strategic approach and her knack for utilizing the most precise vehicles and channels to raise brand awareness, create consumer engagement, generate meaningful media placement, and increase profitability. Clients have relied on her combined media and production skills to define strategy and to create content. Her success and know-how has earned her the respect and trust of peers and clients who see her as the “go-to” source for guidance. She has worked with top-tier brands and agencies such as Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, DeVries Global, L’Oréal Paris, Mercedes Benz, MSL Group, DeBeers, Ketchum Public Relations, Bank of America, Weber Shandwick, LVMH, and
Sunshine Sachs.
Elias founded EWM fueled by her passion to deliver a higher standard of work product and client service experience to the multimedia industry; she has built her reputation on advocacy for and delivery of this kind of commitment to excellence. She incorporates a fresh, partner-minded approach that is proactive, innovative, and discerning while continuing to excel at the tried-and-true techniques of the past. Elias has an emphatic, hands-on mentality and, along with her team, is personally involved in every project, from start to finish.
Elias utilizes her diverse network to forge strategic alliances among public relations agencies, industry experts, media outlets, and brands in a way that boosts both their profiles and their profits. These relationships have created new promotional opportunities for brands, while providing experts a platform by which to raise their presence with media and continue to influence their communities.
A global professional and world citizen, she is well traveled, fluent in English and Arabic, and a connoisseur of global trends, events, and markets.
EMME
As a leading voice and face in the fashion industry, EMME is the iconic world’s first curvy supermodel. With the conviction that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes and a career that spans more than two decades, EMME has paved the way and given women the platform to feel beautiful and empowered through all social media @SupermodelEMME and her online community - EmmeNation.
A TV personality, model, mom, author, brand spokesperson, creative director of her clothing lines, lecturer and globally recognized advocate for positive body image and selfesteem, EMME’s message is clear – to awaken the inner magnificence inherent in each of
us in order to be whole . She is the first model invited to speak before a Congressional subcommittee in Washington, D.C. with a mission to increase public awareness of eating and body image disorders.
EMME is often consulted and interviewed in the media on eating disorders and body image, fashion trends and model diversity, as well as surviving cancer and women's health. She is consistently booked to appear on such media outlets as CNN, MSNBC, HLN, FOX News, GMA, CBS The Early Show, OMG! Insider, Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, The Today Show, Yahoo!Style, PeopleStyleWatch, USAToday and others to share her point of view on these topics and more.
In 2014, EMME launched Fashion Without Limits: Changing the Face of Fashion with her alma mater Syracuse University to create a first of its kind inclusive fashion education curriculum for young designers including designs for size 12 and above. The goal of #FWL is to initiate a shift in the global fashion community toward proactive inclusion of a broader size range of fashion apparel for all women. EMME's work with #SUFWL has received national and international praise from Women’s Wear Daily and DailyMail UK among others.
EMME is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post and the author of three books, “True Beauty ”, “Life’s Little Emergencies ”, and her children’s book “What Are You Hungry For?” She has twice been selected to People Magazine’s "50 Most Beautiful People " and Ladies’ Home Journal chose her as one of the "Most Important Women in America " and one of the "Most Fascinating Women of the Year ." These accolades are truly representative of her tireless commitment to advocacy, but it doesn’t stop there: she has also been honored as one of Glamour magazine’s "Women of the Year " and as one of Biography magazine’s “25 Most Influential Women .”
EMME is a board member to Hearts of Gold and Project Heal, an ambassador to The National Eating Disorders
Association , and donates her time to the Girl Scouts of America . Born in New York City, EMME was raised in Saudi Arabia and attended Kent, the prestigious Connecticut boarding school and was awarded a full rowing athletic scholarship to Syracuse University making her part of the first generation of young women in the nation to benefit from Title IX. EMME’s passion for nature and fitness fuels her active lifestyle, which includes triathlons, snowshoeing, boogie boarding, hiking, long distance biking, yoga and swimming. Today, EMME and her daughter live in Northern New Jersey. Manager: Carie Goldberg: carie@goldstandardsports.com
WENDY ETTINGER
An award-winning producer and director, Wendy Ettinger co-founded Gamechanger Films, the first equity fund dedicated to financing feature films directed by women. Through Gamechanger, she was the Executive Producer of Land Ho; through Chicken & Egg Pictures, she was the Executive Producer of Pariah, directed by Dee Rees. Wendy was also the Executive Producer for the Academy Award®-nominated documentary, The War Room, directed by Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker. She produced Eye of God (Sundance Film Festival, 1997) and Hotel Gramercy Park (Tribeca Film Festival, 2008), and produced and directed Baby I’m Yours (Tribeca Film Festival, 2003).As a casting director, she worked with Ken Loach, Ang Lee, Hal Hartley, and James Lapine. An ardent activist and philanthropist, Wendy believes deeply in the power of change through media, education, and the arts. She focuses her efforts on the rights of women and girls, education, and the revitalization of cities through arts. She serves on the board of Working Films, The Educational Foundation of America, Imagine Science, and the 52nd Street Project, a nonprofit organization that brings theater professionals together with inner city children.
NORISOL FERRARI
Fashion Designer, Norisol Ferrari was born in New York of Venezuelan decent. From an early age this independent free-spirited youth designed and created costumes for herself, which eventually led her into the fashion industry. She began spending her time interning with some of the best designers, giving her a deep routed foundation in tailoring. This soon led to travels throughout Spain, Italy, England and France, giving her the experience to work with some of the most revered artisans. Once she returned to the States, Norisol took her experience and focused on these traditions. Each garment begins first by sourcing the finest material’s, then engineering function while exploring the perfect fit always using some of the world’s greatest craftsmen. The collection is sold by appointment in the New York atelier, Maxfield LA, Hirshleifers and privately at Saks Fifth Avenue. Norisol resides in Manhattan, shows her collection in Paris and spends much of her personal time traveling to warmer climates.
ALISA FLISS
Alisa Fliss, featured in 2006 HBO Documentary THIN, Recovery from Anorexia and Bulimia, Director of Business Development Recovery Division of Acadia Healthcare.
TRISH GOFF
As a child, born and raised in northern Florida, Trish Goff had a driving desire to see the world outside her small community. At the age of 15, she set her sights on creating a life as a working model and moved to New York City. Making her runway debut for Anna Sui, Trish captured the collective attention of the fashion industry, and quickly went on to become one of the most sought-after models in the world. However, at the height of her career, she opted to start a family, get her GED, and go to college.
In 2012, Trish reinvented herself by turning her focus from modeling to real estate in New York City after years of active interest in the market. Her first year she was Douglas Elliman’s top producing rookie agent and since then has emerged as one of Elliman’s top producers.
Trish resides in Manhattan and spends her weekends in the Hudson Valley with her family, where she spends them doing what she loves best; cooking and gardening. She is a supporter of Save the Elephants in Kenya and Urban Dove in New York City, an animal lover, and environmentally conscious person.
KIRSTEN HAGLUND
Kirsten Haglund is a Community Relations Specialist at Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center. Kirsten chose to help raise awareness of eating disorders as her platform while competing in the Miss America Organization because she struggled with anorexia for several years as an adolescent. She saw what an incredible opportunity the crown was to seek to create open dialogue about eating disorders in entertainment media, the fashion and beauty industries, and with the many young women who look to Miss America as a role model. It is her mission to encourage young women, and be outspoken about the fact that these, serious deadly illnesses, are not glamorous. She also wants to reinforce that women have the right and the responsibility to define beauty on their own terms; to love and respect themselves and their bodies first and foremost.
As Miss America, she had the privilege of joining ranks with the Eating Disorders Coalition in Washington DC, to lobby Congress for the passage of Mental Health Parity, as well as speak at a Congressional Briefing introducing the FREED Act. She has done meaningful interviews with EXTRA, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood and SHAPE magazine to expose the dangerous reality of eating disorders. She also helped filmmaker Darryl Roberts promote his documentary exposing the world of underage modeling, cosmetic surgery, eating disorders and the perception of American beauty during his premier in New York City.
Kirsten continues to help bring hope and a voice to those struggling with eating disorders. The Kirsten Haglund Foundation for eating disorders is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization which provides financial assistance to families and individuals seeking treatment for eating disorders. In the fall of 2011, Kirsten was happy to join the team at Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center near Chicago, where she works as Community Relations Specialist. In 2012, she became an ambassador for NEDA, the National Eating Disorders Association. Kirsten finished her degree in Political Science at Emory University in Georgia.
SUSAN MARGOLIN
Susan Margolin is President of Docurama and Special Acquisitions at Cinedigm (NASDAQ: CIDM). She oversees the recently launched Docurama Channel as well as the Docurama brand of award winning documentary films across all platforms including theatrical, home entertainment, and digital distribution.
With over 25 years’ experience in the global film and television distribution business, Margolin has built a reputation as a digital distribution pioneer and dedicated supporter of filmmakers and the filmmaking community. After spending a decade in international film sales she launched New Video Group in 1991 with partner Steve Savage. Over the span of two decades New Video became a leading home entertainment distributor and global digital aggregator, featuring film, TV and online content. During that time she partnered with over 500 content creators including A+E, History, Lifetime, Tribeca Films, Sundance Institute, Major League Baseball and Scholastic.
In 1999, Margolin launched Docurama Films, a division of New Video. Through Docurama, Margolin has championed more than 400 award winning non-fiction films, from the upcoming release of Sara Bordo’s A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story to the 2012 release of Kirby Dick’s Academy Award Nominated The Invisible War. Other notable releases include Academy Award Nominated Hell and Back Again, Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer, Gasland, Wasteland, and Joe Berlinger’s Paradise Lost trilogy.
In 2012, Margolin and Savage sold New Video to Cinedigm, the leading digital cinema company. A graduate of Brown University, she currently serves on the boards of BAFTA NY and Hamptons Take 2 Documentary Film Festival, the advisory boards of Chicken and Egg Pictures and NYWIFT, and was honored by the PGA as one of the “Digital 25: Leaders in Emerging Entertainment.”
EDWIN MEJIA
Edwin Mejia has served as a producer on all the company’s films. Over the past 7 years, he has been responsible for developing the production slate and managing all the sales at the company. He oversees in-house productions, co-productions, acquisitions, sales and manages the company’s worldwide theatrical distribution needs with all major theater chains worldwide.
Mejia was responsible for producing the 2013 award winning hit film, “Generation Iron,” alongside Director, Vlad Yudin and producer Jerome Gary, who produced the highly acclaimed film, “Pumping Iron.” The film was narrated by Academy Award Nominee Mickey Rourke and went on to become one of the top five highest grossing documentary’s at the box office in 2013. Mejia negotiated all the domestic and foreign distribution sales on the title.
Mejia is also responsible for Executive Producing the Mr. Olympia Show in Las Vegas with American Media Inc., publisher of Men’s Fitness, Muscle & Fitness and Flex Magazine. The collaboration led to the launch of the Generation Iron Fitness Network where he established effective partnerships with leading nutritional supplement brands to integrate their products and brands seamlessly into short and long form content via sponsorships. He also produced and negotiated the acquisition by Entertainment One of the Vladar feature “Last Day of Summer”, starring Nikki Reed, and is currently producing the highly anticipated fashion film biopic, “Jeremy Scott The People’s Designer” based on the iconic fashion designer, Jeremy Scott, featuring Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Rita Ora and others for The Vladar Company.
Prior to partnering with Vlad Yudin, Mejia spent over six years working on Wall Street in finance and operations with Lehman Brothers, Smith Barney and Fidelity Investments. During his six-year tenure in finance, he managed approximately $4 billion of Commercial Real Estate Holdings, the funding of warehouse lending lines of credit for Lehman Brothers and managed a portfolio of over 700 private and institutional accounts at Smith Barney.
MAYE MUSK
Maye Musk, dietitian-nutritionist with 2 MS degrees, author, mother, grandmother, international model, including Times Square billboards for Target and Virgin America, campaigns for Revlon and Clinique, hitting her prime at 67.
CORINNE NICOLAS
Corinne Nicolas, President of Trump Models, has over 15 years' experience in the fashion modeling industry. In 1999, she was one in a core group of model managers selected by Mr. Donald J. Trump to open his world renowned model agency, Trump Models. The agency's roster includes top models that are featured in magazines and campaigns around the world, as well as on the international runways. The Trump Legends division represents such icons as Tatjana Patitz, Jerry Hall, Daniela Pestova and Carol Alt.
Prior to joining Trump Model Management, Nicolas worked for the prestigious agency, Elite Model Management. After receiving her Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University, she decided to pursue a career in law. However, after a short stint at law school, she quickly decided it was not the path for her. Having always had a passion for fashion and models, she opted to pursue a career in the fashion industry.
A native New Yorker, Nicolas thrives on living in NYC and enjoys spending her free time discovering new restaurants and exploring the different neighborhoods the city has to offer. She loves to travel and spend time with family and friends
YOLONDA ROSS
Yolonda Ross (Actress/Writer/Director/Producer) is a native of Omaha, Nebraska who splits her time between New York City and Los Angeles. As an actress, Ross made her feature film debut in the 2001 HBO feature, Stranger Inside, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and earned her an IFP Gotham Award and her first Spirit Award nomination. She was recently nominated again for a Film Independent Spirit Award for her work in John Sayles's Go For Sisters. In 2008 she became a member of New York's Labyrinth Theater Company after making her stage debut in Unconditional at The Public Theater. Her talents as an actor in Film and Television can be recognized in such projects as Angela Bassett’s Whitney, Denzel Washington's The Antwone Fisher Story, Yelling To The Sky, 24, Shortbus, Law and Order, and David Mamet's The Unit, in which Mr. Mamet wrote the part for her himself. The two teamed up again on the Mamet/HBO Phil Spector Biopic. However, it was Ross’s work on HBO’s Treme, in which she plays documentary filmmaker Dana Lyndsey and her continued work with the Sundance Director's Labs, that inspired her to step behind the camera for her directorial debut, Breaking Night, which is currently running on VH1 Classics. Ross’s extensive experience in film and theater has led her to marry the two in scripting her debut feature, Scenes From Our Marriage, which is currently in development. Yolonda will be directing. Her current projects in theaters and up for release are, Lila & Eve with Viola Davis and Jennifer Lopez, Meadowland and Kiss Me, Kill Me. She recently wrapped on Lily Amirpour’s The Bad Batch with Jason Mamoa and Keanu Reeves, and Ira Sach's, Thank You For Being Honest. She is currently shooting Baz Luhrmann's new series, The Get Down, for Netflix.
STEPHANIE SZOSTAK
Stephanie Szostak, a natural talent with an international appeal, is a French-American actress on her way to becoming one of Hollywood's most enchanting leading ladies.
Szostak stars opposite Matt Passmore in USA Network's "Satisfaction," which is a provocative drama from Sean Jablonski ("Nip/Tuck," "Suits") that explores a modern marriage at its core. The series premiered to critical buzz on July 17, 2014 and was subsequently renewed for a second season, which will premiere in summer 2015.
Most recently, Szostak appeared in the Ricky Blitt-directed independent comedy "Hit by Lightning" alongside Jon Cryer and Will Sasso, and co-stared opposite Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges in "R.I.P.D," which was released by Universal Pictures. She appeared in Marvel's "Iron Man 3," which was released on May 3, 2013 by Disney and also starred Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce. The film brought in $174 million domestically in its opening weekend and has since passed the 1 billion mark globally. Also in 2013, Szostak appeared in Ross Krauss' "Gimme Shelter" with Vanessa Hudgens, Brendan Fraser and Rosario Dawson.
In 2011, Szostak played Matt Damon's late-wife in the Fox comedy-drama from Cameron Crowe titled "We Bought a Zoo," and in 2010 Szostak starred as the female lead opposite Paul Rudd, Steve Carrell and Zach Galifianakis in "Dinner for Schmucks," the American adaptation of the 1998 French comedy "Le Dîner de Cons." Directed by Jay Roach ("Meet the Parents" and "Austin Powers" franchises), the comedy was released by Paramount Pictures on July 30, 2010.
In 2006, Szostak rivaled Meryl Streep's 'Miranda Priestly' as French Vogue Editor, 'Jacqueline Follet' in David Frankel's beloved take on Lauren Weisberger's novel of the same name, "The Devil Wears Prada. " The film received critical acclaim and garnered an AFI Award for 'Movie of the Year,' a Golden Globe nomination in the category of 'Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical' and was named one of the Top Ten Films of the year by the National Board of Review, among others.
Additional projects include the French film, "Une aventure New Yorkaise" ("A New York Thing") alongside actor Jonathan Zaccai, "The Rebound" directed by Bart Freundlich and starring Catherine Zeta Jones, Italian comedy "Four Single Fathers, Motherhood" starring Uma Thurman, "The Good Heart" with Brian Cox, and Jeff Winner's independent film "Satellite," for which Szostak received a Best Actress award at the BendFilm Festival. Other television credits include the acclaimed HBO series "The Sopranos" and the hit NBC series "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." Szostak has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the College of William & Mary and is an avid golfer. She currently lives outside of New York City with her family.
ISE WHITE
Fashion Editor, Celebrity Stylist, Art Director and Writer, Ise White has developed her iconic style over the years in publications like Vogue IT, Amica IT, Harper's Bazaar, Vanity Fair , Elle and Many More. She has directed Global ad campaigns bringing her fine art background and knowledge of art history to elevate the commerce to art and bring art into commerce.
She is known for her strong leadership and fluent eye in bringing up the quality and level of the projects and teams she is part of. She continues to work in NYC, LA, and abroad.
Her Heritage is: Choctaw, Chinese and Scots. Ise "Eaglerain" White
VLAD YUDIN
Vlad Yudin has poured his unique, creative vision into his work as a producer and director since setting out to establish himself as a force in the motion picture industry. Born in Central Russia, Yudin learned to look beyond his borders at an early age, sparking a love for multi-cultural films with a strong underlying message. Heavily influenced by American films and culture, Yudin followed his passion abroad to study filmmaking at New York University where, after honing his production skills, he put his entrepreneurial talents to work to create The Vladar Company in 2008.
Yudin has since proven adept not only at acquiring and distributing edgy, genre-driven independent films, but also helming films of his own. In 2009 he made his feature drama debut with Last Day of Summer, then went on to direct and produce the critically acclaimed documentary Generation Iron (2013). Generation Iron was hailed by industry authority Daily Variety as “a hit for director Vlad Yudin and his production shingle” while the Village Voice celebrated the “lovely philosophical grace notes” Yudin pulled from his subjects.
Moving into 2015, Yudin continues to expand his prowess behind the lens with a full slate of Vladar Company projects, including two feature documentaries to be released this year. Jeremy Scott: The People’s Designer offers an intimate look at the provocative designer’s rise to fame and The Hurt Business lifts the lid on the controversial and fast growing sport of Mixed Martial Arts. Yudin is directing and producing both films. Additionally Yudin and his company are embarking upon new creative territory with an adaptation of historical novel The French Executioner. Mark Huffam (Games of Thrones) is attached to produce.
Vlad’s current projects are built upon the strong foundations of his past work, including Big Pun: The Legacy (2008), about the outsized rapper from The Bronx, and Mr. Immortality: The Life and Times of Twista (2011), chronicling the hip hop artist in his hometown of Chicago.
Aside from his directorial and producing efforts, Yudin also acts as Creative Director of The Vladar Company, where he’s responsible for supervising all films and scripts, while his partner Edwin Mejia serves as producer and manages overall sales and investments for the company. Yudin aims to direct, produce and distribute films that will inspire and create a thought-provoking message for generations to come.