Julia Verdin

Veteran filmmaker Julia Verdin is a multihyphenate she is known as an accomplished producer awardwinning Director and has written a number of screenplays Having been in the film business for 30 years Julia has established herself as one of Hollywoods leading independent producers with over 36 critically acclaimed feature films produced to date She founded and has been running Rough Diamond Productions since 1995 Julias films have been selected for many major film festivalicluding Sundance Toronto Venice AFI Raindance Vancouver International and London As a director her former acting background has given her the tools to support her actors and bring out amazing performances and her producing background enables her to stay on budget while bringing out the best creative results Her directorial debut Lost Girls starring Bar Paly Marisol Nichols and Jamie Harris did well on the festival circuit and won several awards including Best Social Impact film at The Culver City Film festival The film has also been broadcast as part of an educational program on sex trafficking of minors and has been screened by organizations and communities and is currently in distribution Her first feature that she directed wrote and produced Angie Lost Girls had a limited theatrical release in December 2020 at a drivein due to Covid19 and distributed by Freestyle in the US and Jinga Films worldwide Set around the world of child sex trafficking again this time focusing on a victims difficulty reintegrating with her family refinding her selfworth whilst combating ongoing threats to herself and loved ones from traffickers The film stars Olivia dAbo Dylan Sprayberry Anthony Montgomery Randall Batinkoff Jane Widdop MC Lyte and Amin Joseph Her second feature MAYA is currently in postproduction and showcases how young vulnerable teens with no support at home can be lured by traffickers online It stars Patricia Velasquez Rumer Willis Gian Franco Rodriguez Rena Owen Anthony Montgomery and newcomers Isabella Feliciana and Billy Budinich She directed a short promo for GIFT Global initiative fighting Trafficking and 2 short films Brown and The Inheritance in partnership with nonprofit Kids in The Spotlight which were stories written by and acted in by foster youth Brown screened at Paramount Studios in November 2019 and screened at several film festivals The Inheritance premiered at the Orpheum Theater in November 2021 Julia founded and serves on the board of directors of Artists For Change a 501c nonprofit with a mission of raising awareness on key social issues through film and media