We were lucky to catch up with Julia Verdin recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Julia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I am a believer in the power of film and it’s ability to raise awareness on key social issues.

I’m very passionate about creating social impact films on topics such as child trafficking, domestic abuse, alcoholism, bullying, the current homeless crisis. My goal is bring awareness to these issues via film, which is a medium that can really bring focus to these real-world problems.

I founded Artists for Change, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to create high impact film, television, and multimedia projects to inspire individuals, organizations, and communities to bring about positive social change.

Maya, our latest film, aims to raise awareness on key issues including child trafficking, domestic violence, and alcoholism. It’s inspired by true events and will show how predators use social media to lure vulnerable teens into their lair. I wrote, directed and produced this film and it will be released this summer.

Then next to come out will be No Address, a film I co-wrote and directed, that has just finished principal photography and will be released later this year.

It is about a group of people who bond together with a personal history and experience all their own, yet are experiencing homelessness and living with No Address.

The day-to-day struggle of life on the streets is emotionally charged with uncertainty at every corner. Shelter, food and ongoing safety threatens their daily life.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I initially started in the film business as an actress. I went to drama school in London and loved exploring different characters, putting on plays, doing scenes and constantly being active and creating.

I achieved a certain level of success as an actress and played roles in a number of different films and TV series. I was always happy when I was working and being creative but was not good at sitting around waiting for the phone to ring and so I started to develop film projects.

One of the things I loved most about acting was developing characters and thinking about what a certain type of character would do in a given situation, and I found that same joy in developing scripts. I fell into producing and found that I was good at it and it felt like the right path for me to take.

After producing for years and getting 36 films into production and developing many screenplays with other writers, I started to write my own. I have now written 3 produced screenplays and optioned a couple more and won a number of screenwriting awards.

Loving new challenges, 8 years ago, I went back and did an MA in film with a focus on directing and social impact filmmaking. I started out with a short film and loved it. My acting background helped with understanding how to direct actors and my producing experience of working closely with a variety of directors, watching them work, understanding how to cover a scene and the various courses I took all really helped.

I have now directed a number of shorts and 3 feature films, co-directed a documentary and am in pre-production for a fourth feature. I love writing and directing and feel that will be my focus going forward and have a couple more projects currently in the works.

When I am in-between films, I also do some consulting for other filmmakers to help them achieve their dreams and have developed a successful business doing that too. I really enjoy helping others achieve their goals and find success. I have found that it is often a case of helping them to find the right business plan that will result in finding success.

I wrote a book on filmmaking, Success in Film, to be a simple guide on how to make a film from start to finish. I am happy to say that the book used to teach filmmakers all around the world.
I also do some volunteer work and founded a non profit, Artists for Change – https://www.artists4change.org/

Have you ever had to pivot?

I think for me the change in my career came from me making a choice to change direction a little rather than having to pivot. I have found for myself that as I have got older, I have become more reflective. I reached a certain point in my life when I came to a point when I thought I have been making films for others and doing what others want me to do for years and have had a good amount of success. I had always wanted to direct but was never really encouraged to do that. I was always told, you’re really good at producing, stick to that. I like new challenges and so as I mentioned earlier, about 8 years ago, I decided to take some time out and even though I had worked closely and been right at the monitor watching the many directors I have worked with over the years work with actors and checking that we were getting the coverage needed to tell the story, to take some time out and learn more about directing and the visual language of cinema.
That was when I did my MA in filmmaking. I am really glad I did that as it also made me think about my voice as a filmmaker and the type of films that I, Julia wanted to make. I decided then that I wanted to make films that would have some meaning and purpose and raise awareness on issues that I cared about and wanted to try and make a difference in. That was when I started to also research how to best use films for social impact too.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I am inspired to write a script when people’s stories or situations touch my heart and when a story or image stays in my head. I also think when you bring people together with a common goal who are all passionate about the same issue, change is possible.

The reason I founded the non- profit Artists for Change was because of my belief in the power of film to raise awareness on key social issues. I also talked to many non-profits and realized that most of them did not have the budget to create media to raise awareness by telling a visual story about the work that they are doing as the majority of grants they get have to be used to provide services.

Angie: Lost Girls and Lost Girls, the first two films we made about teen trafficking have been used for many community and outreach educational events on child trafficking as well as being available on general release.

I have had many letters from parents saying “Thank you for making this film, we watched it with our teenage daughter and it was a very bonding experience. She said she finally understood why we always wanted to know where she was going and to call us regularly.”

I have volunteered at runaway children’s shelters and seen the level of trauma that 13-15 year old survivors of trafficking carry. The stories of the horrific abuses they have gone through affected me to my core. If the films I have made on this topic can help prevent other teen boys and girls from being recruited by traffickers all the love, energy and long hours I have put into making these films will be so worth it to me.

The same with the new film I just wrote and directed about the homeless crisis. I know a lot of efforts are being made to find solutions. I hope that No Address will help keep this conversation going and serve as a reminder that not all those on our streets chose to be there. I volunteer a lot with foster youth and one of the lead characters in that film is a foster youth who finds herself on the streets with no where to go and is saved from two young gang members and offered refuge by another homeless teen.

My new film Maya staring Patricia Velasquez, Rumer Willis, Gianfranco Rodriguez highlights the dangerous of teens being recruited on social media. Isabella Feliciana who plays Maya, the teen who is trafficked gives an amazing performance and what happens to her is heartbreaking. All the performances in the film are really strong. It’s also a story about resilience and ability to change if you are willing. Patricia Velasquez’s character Camilla, Maya’s mother faith and willingness to change to help her daughter is incredibly moving. It’s a story of courage against adversity, good conquering evil, hope and inspiration. My hope is that it will make a strong impact on audiences too.     

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.artists4change.org/
• Instagram: @juliaverdin and @artistsforchangela
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artistsforchange/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliaverdin
• Twitter: @juliaverdin

Image Credits
Sasha Dylan Bell, Karin Gumbinner, Kelsey Edwards,