We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Katia Belas. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Katia below.

Katia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later?

I never thought about becoming a Talent Manager in my life but I wish I had. I went from film projects to film projects and I have always enjoyed working with actors, although sometimes their egos get on the way, but I really believe that performing art is one of the most beautiful and most complicated form of art (if done right) and I really love being a part of the actors’ journeys. I thought that by producing and directing a film or show, my life would be full of joy and I would be working with the type of art I most enjoy. Don’t get me wrong, it is joyful and I did work with great talents, but it was just a few years ago, when I took a job at a talent management company that I realized where my true bliss is, and I really wish I had opened my eyes many years ago. I just feel I wasted a long time in the wrong track and if I had started in this path earlier, I believe I would have experienced the joy a lot earlier, a lot more constantly and built up my company and clientele to a bigger and better place by now. BUT..I am not the person to cry over the spilled milk, I can’t change the past but I can look forward to the future, and I believe my company and my clients are going to accomplish a LOT of incredible things!

Katia, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a Brazilian immigrant living in the US for 25 years now and I have been a independent filmmaker, producing & directing (and sometimes editing) for over 10 years now. I set up my company, KMB Entertainment in 2016 to start creating new projects on my own. At KMB Ent, we produced a series of silent short films where each film would discuss or bring up for discussion a social issue, taboo, crime, or of similar situations such as bullying, body shaming, domestic violence, mental health, sexual harassment, homophobia, drunk driving, etc. The project also started the discussion of having disable talents on a film set and advocate for Deaf artists to be included in the film industry workplace. In 3 years, we also organized and curate films for a film festival held around the Los Angeles area until 2020 COVID19 forced us to stop producing in-person events. That was when I started to work in a Management company and fell in love with talent management.

Have you ever had to pivot?

There were 2 major times when the world or the industry shift so drastically that I HAD to re-do my whole life. First was 2020 COVID19 Pandemic. No work, no income, no travel back home for the support of the family, nothing…I was completely alone and obligated to stay alone without anything at all. That was when I started to think about how to save my life financially and mentally not to feel alone. That was when the thought of taking a regular job where I would be needed for long hours and work with many people all the time took place. At a production company, many times I work alone, deal with investors, creatives and others, but once these were every now and then and when the project is over, so is you time with them. At the management company, I had to be dealing with all the clients/talents everyday 5-6 days a week, sometimes even 7 days. So that change was a big thing for me.

The second shift was a few months ago when the unions went on strike. Both WGA (Writers Guild of America) and SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) members were on strike and not allowed to work on any project/film/show by the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) which includes all major studios and streaming services. There was a halt in the industry and work load went downhill tremendously. I almost completely lost the job I was having so much fun and enjoying it because the company took a big hit as none of its clients were working. That was when I decided to open a new division on my production company to manage actors’ career on my own. Everything I learned since 2020, I am now putting into practice and helping my clients the way I feel is the best way to manage someone’s acting career.

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

Yes. I worked with managers that are very distant and/or disorganized. That was driving me crazy, so I made my goal to provide a very hand-in-hand and one-on-one service to my clients. We meet every 2,3 weeks or once a month to check in. Make sure we are all on the same page all the time. Make sure I know their needs and what their goals are.

I also have a mission to help as many immigrants I can, especially those from Latin America. I manage a variety of clients, mostly diverse and I love them all, don’t get me wrong. But I do have this drive that makes me stronger when I know my Latinx clients are succeeding in the American market.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kmbentertainment.com
• Instagram: @kmb_talents
• Facebook: @kmbentertain
• Twitter: @kmbentertain
• Youtube: @kmbmovies
• Other: Manager: Katia Belas – [email protected]  Agent: Kim Kennerly – [email protected]

Image Credits
SignMation, Getty Images, WOCF, KMB Entertainment