HiddenLight Productions Hires Brenda Robinson as Head of Film Finance

Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton’s HiddenLight Productions have appointed industry veteran Brenda Robinson as their first head of film funding 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 grants and equity to develop and produce projects that the company brings to market later in the production cycle. It also signals a desire to tell a wider range of stories from a diversity of voices.

Robinson was most recently a financier of the Oscar-winning documentary “Icarus” as well as “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” and “Step.” She has executive produced numerous projects, including 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 the PBS series “American Masters.”

Robinson is a member of the film fundraising collective Impact Partners and is currently Chairman of the Board of Film Independent. She is also a board member 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, is joining the company effective immediately.

Webb said, “As a passionate advocate for a diverse group of filmmakers, Brenda will contribute to HiddenLight in many different ways. We are honored to have Brenda join the team and be that brilliant bridge between editorial, finance and philanthropy.

Robinson added, “It’s incredibly exciting to join a team with aligned values ​​and a shared vision of what’s 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’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the team, to bring new connections and collaborations to the table, to help them bring even bigger stories to the screen.

HiddenLight’s next project to air is the documentary “In Her Hands”. Winner of the People’s Choice Award at the 18th Camden International Film Festival and HiddenLight’s first project for Netflix, the film will have its world premiere on Netflix and in select theaters on November 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 hold the post. “In Her Hands” follows her fight for survival as her country crumbles and the Taliban returns to power, forcing Ghafari and women across the country to face their new reality.