Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton’s HiddenLight Productions has named industry veteran Brenda Robinson as its first head of film finance and inclusion strategies. Robinson, an entertainment attorney, financier and producer, will be responsible for bringing new partners to HiddenLight’s slate of productions across film and television.
Robinson’s appointment represents a number of developments in HiddenLight’s strategy, including the use of grant and equity funding to develop and produce projects that the company takes to market later in the production cycle. It also signals a desire to tell a wider spectrum of stories from a diversity of voices.
Robinson was most recently a financier on the Academy Award-winning documentary “Icarus” as well as “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” and “Step.” She has executive produced numerous projects including the BAFTA-nominated “Passing,” directed by Rebecca Hall and produced by Nina Yang Bongiovi and Forest Whitaker; the Emmy-nominated “United Skates,” alongside executive producer John Legend; “The Great American Lie” by director Jennifer Siebel Newsom; “Jump Shot: The Kenny Sailors Story,” alongside executive producer Steph Curry; and “Marian Anderson: The Whole World In Her Hands,” directed by Rita Coburn for PBS’ “American Masters” series.
Robinson is a member of film financing collective Impact Partners and currently serves as the board chair of Film Independent. She is also on the board of The Representation Project founded by California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and is chair of the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.
Robinson, who will report to CEO Johnny Webb, joins the company with immediate effect.
Webb said: “As a passionate advocate for a diverse group of filmmakers, Brenda will contribute to HiddenLight in a universe of ways. We feel honored to have Brenda join the team and be that brilliant bridge between editorial, finance and philanthropy.”
Robinson added: “It is incredibly exciting to be joining a team with aligned values and a shared vision of what is important in the world. HiddenLight’s approach to the stories they want to tell and the inclusive lens through which they want to tell them, is truly inspiring. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the team, to bring new links and collaborations to the table, to help them bring even more important stories to the screen.”
HiddenLight’s next project to air is the documentary “In Her Hands.” Winner of the 18th Camden International Film Festival’s audience award and HiddenLight’s first project for Netflix, the film premieres globally on Netflix and in select cinemas on Nov. 16.
Produced in association with Propagate and Moondogs and filmed over two years, the documentary examines the story of Zarifa Ghafari, who, at 26, became one of Afghanistan’s first female mayors and the youngest to ever hold the position. “In Her Hands” follows her fight for survival as her country unravels and the Taliban return to power, forcing Ghafari and women across the country to face their new reality.
