ADVOCACY THROUGH MEDIA
- Heart Of Hollywood Team
- 11 hours ago
- 17 min read
Filmmaker Nadia Voukitchevitch Aims to Help Advance Human Rights
Nadia Voukitchevitch, Owner of Nadia Films, Executive Producer, and Director, was born in New York City. She lived in Haiti for five years, Spain for eight years, and Russia for one year, and considers herself a global citizen. She speaks five languages, with Spanish as her native language. She holds a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, where she studied with experimental filmmaker Abigail Child and documentarian Martha Sandlin. Nadia earned her Master’s in Human Development with a concentration in Leadership in Education and Human Services from Pacific Oaks College.
Nadia’s lifelong passion for social justice, equality, and human rights has led her to become an activist. She has directed and produced award-winning PSAs, including several for The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA). Over the last 20 years, she has produced commercials for Fortune 500 brands and multimedia projects for the U.S. Hispanic-Multicultural market, earning accolades such as Palm d’Ors, Sols, Clios, Addys, and a Belding Award.
Her first ultra-low-budget feature film, America's Family, which she produced in Mexico for CHIRLA, won the Grand Jury and Audience Award at the Dances with Films Festival in 2022 and was granted the ReFrame Stamp from Women in Film (WIF).
During high school, Nadia was selected for the Future Filmmakers’ Workshop at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and later attended the Screenwriters’ Workshop led by Christine Choi. At 15, she worked as a math tutor, and at 18, she began working on independent films at Good Machine Inc. under the mentorship of Ted Hope, Anthony Bregman, Gretchen McGowan, and James Schamus.
Nadia has produced several short films, including the award-winning female buddy comedy Ending Up with Matt Letscher and Jenica Bergere, and her own film Behind Closed Doors, which she wrote and directed. She has also directed numerous documentaries on topics such as homelessness, racism, the childcare system, and public education in the U.S.
As an actress, Nadia appeared in Alexei Balabanov’s film Brother, which received a Special Nomination at Cannes in 1997. She has also worked on TV projects, including BBC’s Conquistadors and CNN’s Newsstand with director Consuelo González.
Recently, Nadia earned the Parity in Action Badge from Women in Media for her documentary Mira Chai: The Godmother of Male Grooming, which has won over 12 international awards, including Best Female Director and Best Documentary at the 2024 San Diego Independent Cinema Awards.
Nadia’s dedication to giving back is evident in her efforts to raise millions of dollars for APLA through marathons and decades of fundraising for CHIRLA, Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. She also recently participated in the Pasadena Rose Bowl 5k, benefiting children living with cancer.
Nadia co-founded a full-service production, VFX, and branding company, Nadia Films, with partner Robb Hart. The company launched a new division, the Creative Collective, last year. Outside of work, Nadia enjoys singing, painting, writing poetry, reading, piloting planes, swimming, playing tennis, hiking, cooking, and exploring new places. She lives in Los Angeles with her teenage son and her rescue puppy, Fearless.
What inspired you to establish Nadia Films, and how has your vision for the company evolved over the years?
As a young teenager, when I lived in a very small and isolated town in Torremanzanas, Spain, I spent my evenings and weekends watching classic Hollywood films on VHS and Betamax tapes that were part of my parents' library. I also watched local TV, where I discovered European directors such as Francois Truffaut, Renoir, Carlos Saura, Buñuel, Leni Riefenstahl.
At age 12 I told my father I wanted to be a director and he told me very honestly that it was a shame because he had no contacts in the film industry. When I asked to move back to New York to study film in the early 90s, I understood what my father meant— that I would have to work very hard, especially as a woman of color. I decided early on in my career that I would save up as much as I could to start my own full-service production company that would champion women in all key positions and leadership roles, and also produce global films in multiple languages that were representative of a diverse world.
My long-term vision and goal is to launch other divisions of the company that foster talent and support musicians, singers, artists, engineers, nutritionists, chefs, and single mothers who are struggling. I also intend to continue to preserve the environment as head of a green company. Over the years, I'm proud to say that I have made it my mission to prioritize and hire women of color as directors, cinematographers, producers, editors, and heads of departments on shoots. I have also always supported and worked with many LGBTQA professionals and differently-abled people whom you rarely see on an average big-budget Hollywood set. Over the years, I've seen how my vision to empower women by making meaningful social justice content via films that change or improve the world has evolved. However, I’m aware of how much we still need to do, despite how far we've come. Women, who make up over 50 percent of the global population, still make up less than 25 percent in power positions within the industry.
As a woman in the entertainment industry, what challenges have you faced, and how did you overcome them?
There have been many challenges: discrimination, sexism, racism, favoritism, language and cultural barriers, ageism, and simply being misunderstood. The way I overcame most of these challenges was by speaking up, showing that I'm just a human being and taking the high road.
However, just when you think you have overcome most of the obstacles, you find yourself in an awkward and uncomfortable position again, and wonder why we really haven't been able to make significant, everlasting changes yet.
At the age of four, when I lived in Haiti, I was sexually molested by two men in their thirties or forties. I was ashamed of this for decades and never even told either one of my parents until a few years ago. In fact, my father died without ever knowing. This is why I never tolerate any form of sexual harassment or kind of abuse. Despite being sexually harassed on many occasions, I've always spoken up about it. I'm also extremely protective of children because of the abuse I endured myself.
From a young age I've always wanted to do my part to serve the community I lived in to make it better, hoping it would have a global effect. When in grade school in Spain, I suffered horrible racism and had to teach others about mixed families. I also used to pick up trash that people threw in the countryside. My Spanish friends thought I was crazy, but I knew then that I was helping to preserve Mother Nature. When I was in high school and saw so many young girls drop out due to teenage pregnancies, I started encouraging them to stay in school and used my voice as senior class president to try to inspire them and show them that there was life beyond the projects or whichever underserved borough they lived in. I encouraged them to seek help from Planned Parenthood and also to further their education, as that is the key to making yourself a better person.
While at Sarah Lawrence College, I ran for student government and served on the student senate for three years and was elected sophomore class president, I helped increase the lighting on campus to make it safer for students and staff, advocated for more students of color on campus, and raised funds for the Students of Color Scholarship Fund. I also worked and wrote for Dark Phrases, a newspaper on campus. I organized the first international film festival on campus and directed a documentary, Color and Differences @ SLC . The documentary caused the Dean of Studies, Barbara Kaplan, o want to see it. She realized that there were many issues on campus around race and class that needed to be addressed. At the major corporations and advertising agencies where I've worked full time in the past, I've always wanted to improve their processes and procedures. Especially as a producer, I have noticed that these are often cumbersome and backwards, causing costly delays and decreasing sales. At the risk of being fired, having my position be made redundant, not getting promoted, or not being asked back for a future, I have always attempted to help the owners of these companies do better. Sadly, people often prefer to hide their imperfections instead of working on them and facing the realities of an evolving planet.
What advice would you give to women who aspire to break into the entertainment industry?
Work hard, do your research, and never give up. If this is the career choice you make, know it's the most competitive one out there and often has a lot to do with luck, so be prepared to never take "no" for an answer. Choose to work with people who bring solutions and options to the table and innovative minds. Avoid people who are negative and only dump problems in your lap. Knowledge is power, so make sure you get all the training and education you need, so no one can tell you that you don't know what you are doing, because as a woman that is the first thing many male crew members will think and say to other males. Some people will make you feel like you are unworthy or undeserving, but it will be up to you and your willpower and confidence to not let that affect you in accomplishing your goals.
Be punctual, be kind and be humble. Having a good sense of humor is a huge plus, I've often been able to de-escalate things on set and soften the tension by making fun of myself and using comedy. It is important to remain in a position of never being offended, however, if the offense is criminal, you must call it out and not be afraid, because by staying silent, you are only perpetuating this behavior. It takes courage to be a whistleblower.
Get a good female entertainment lawyer— always protect yourself and your creative work.
I learned the hard way about many of these things and would have loved to have someone give me solid advice with no strings attached.
Nadia Films has a strong focus on multicultural and multilingual storytelling. Why is this aspect so important to you, and how does it influence the projects you take on?
We live in a world that is constantly evolving. The companies that are able to survive drastic economic changes are those that adapt to the current trends and think ahead of the curve. Growing up I rarely saw any books, toys, films, TV shows or institutions in the world that were representative of myself, a mixed multilingual person. New York City was an exception back in the late 70s and 80s when I was a child. Most other cities where I lived were not diverse. So my dream was to make multilingual, multicultural movies. World-changing content was on my mind even back then.
At Nadia Films we are open to any ideas and scripts. We devote a lot of time to listening and tailoring our creative work to the brand's needs, and those change every day. In fact, they change by the second, so we need to move quickly at all times and be ready and prepared to pivot for our clients. We are always willing to explore and take on all types of projects for potential new brands and clients, regardless of the size of their budget.
With over 25 years of experience, what do you consider a major career highlight?
Receiving awards for Best Female Director and Best Director at several film festivals this past year has been one of the major highlights in my career. Producing and directing an award-winning, ultra-low-budget docuseries on Powerful & Inspiring Asian Women, and the next three series to come, which will be on Latina women, Black women, and all the women that came before us. This project was very rewarding despite being self-funded.
Another highlight was winning the Audience Award for America's Family at the Dances With Films Festival in 2022. The huge sacrifice to make it was worth it, as the audience cannot be fooled. The Grand Jury Award can sometimes be political, but the Audience one is indicative of people feeling the film was truthful and authentic. That was the first feature that I produced, and it took over four years to complete due to covid and being funded by a nonprofit, so it was one of the most challenging shoots I've ever worked on.
Your work spans commercials, music videos, films, and more. How do you balance the creative and business sides of running a full-service production company?
Thank you for pointing out the diversity of media that we work with and produce. We are a full-service production company that offers post and VFX as well as concepting, casting, consulting, media planning, and buying options. We also launched a branding company, The Creative Collective by Nadia Films, last year. It focuses on brands that want to grow and expand their sales on a local and global level. Our Creative Collective was formed by a group of diverse creatives who want to see the "traditional agency" model evolve, as it has sadly been becoming obsolete since about a decade ago. The Creative Collective seeks to harness the power of the group to streamline cumbersome processes and directly serve a brand by responding rapidly to its ever-changing needs, while helping it grow and expand. This was a vision and goal I’ve had since a long time ago, so it is important that we highlight the difference between our branding company and traditional creative boutique or global advertising agencies. There are only three major ones left nowadays and they own all the other smaller ones, so in a way this field has evolved into a monopoly.
The way we balance the creative with the business side is very simple. The commercial side often helps fund the creative side once all crew, cast, and vendors have been paid and the brands we work with are satisfied with their ROI and the results we've generated.
There is no magic formula to balancing work, creativity, and life, I think we all struggle with that, especially those of us who are caregivers for anyone in our lives. However, if you plan and schedule time to mindfully devote yourself to each aspect of your life and company, then you are guaranteed quality-driven results in all areas. One thing I've learned as I've gone through almost half a century of life is that it's not the amount of time you spend on something or someone, but the quality and substance felt mutually during that time spent.
Can you share a story about a particularly meaningful or impactful project you’ve worked on? What made it special?
America's Family, the feature I produced for CHIRLA. I'm in awe of the commendable work that the Executive Director and EP on the film, Angélica Salas, has done for the immigrant community in the U.S. starting more than 30 years ago. The reason this film is special is not because of the acting or the production design or the locations or even the awards it won. The most important thing is its message of hope and compassion and humanity. America's Family is only $4.99 to rent on Apple TV and can also be found on Amazon, YouTube, and other streaming platforms, as well as on the movie's website, www.americasfamilymovie.com
How do you think the entertainment industry is evolving for women, and what changes would you still like to see?
Undoubtedly, the entertainment industry has evolved over the past five years. Particularly after the covid lockdown, I felt that women were more solution-driven in finding ways to come back out and get the business going— bringing people back to the movie theaters after so many had closed. While there have been more programs and organizations established for women by women, which have started to make the industry more diverse and create more opportunities, I find that the majority of billion-dollar corporations with the economic power to make substantial change fail to see the larger picture. By empowering underserved communities, particularly women, they would help grow the global economy and would be investing in an educated, informed future with women who have buying power. Women spend a lot every day— women are often the ones making purchases for their household, and all women's products, even our dry-cleaning, tend to be more costly than men's.
I personally had to write up a covid mitigation plan for my own crew and director which proved to be very useful and safe when the DGA, PGA, SAG-AFTRA, and none of the unions knew what to do after lockdown and had nothing in place to protect folks yet. Following the Los Angeles fires, it will be interesting to see what innovative ways will come up to bring the business back to LA, how to make the city more film-friendly, and how to really take people's needs into account.
So while I see many more women of color on film sets nowadays, along with folks from all walks of life, I still don't see anyone in a wheelchair rigging lights. I would like more women directors, cinematographers, editors, and writers to be nominated for major awards, such as the Oscars and Golden Globes, as well as the Palm D'Or at Cannes or Los Arieles in Mexico or the Goyas in Spain. I know there are hundreds of women who are qualified and talented in those key positions, but they are still not given the work opportunities which can then lead to them being nominated for awards. Winning would show the entire world, including young girls, that it is possible to dream big and reach your goal.
The Academy recently nominated a transgender person for an award for the first time ever, and I cried tears of joy. I have identified with the LGBTQA community since I was a child. I told my parents I was born a girl but really felt more like a boy, and that God had changed his mind at the last minute. They would just laugh at me and tell me to stop acting like I was crazy. This was particularly painful, considering they both were in the world of the arts as striving writers.
What role does your diverse cultural background play in your creative process and approach to storytelling?
I could easily say that it makes my storytelling richer and more interesting, but what would that be saying about my white friends’ storytelling? My diverse cultural background is everything to me, and to my son who often wishes he were "more cultured" like I am, and even though I tell him you are everything that I am and much more because you are your amazing unique self, he still has his doubts, which for a teenager is understandable. Our cultural backgrounds make us. They shape who we are and eventually create the legacy we leave behind, right?
I just try to be as truthful to myself as possible, as hard as that can be. Just like many women and men that I admire, I sometimes suffer from imposter syndrome depending on what type of situation I find myself in. However, I try to be as authentic as possible 99 percent of the time. As much as I dislike the overused word "authentic", I find that sharing your personal story and being vulnerable can prove to be very healing to others and help them find their mission and purpose in life too. It's like Demi Moore said: you just have to "put down that measuring stick." Once we start telling ourselves we are enough and good enough and worthy, then we can feel free to do our best work. Sadly, people's natural tendency is to compare themselves to others and then jealousy, resentment and even hatred come out. If they could just accept their own perfectly imperfect ways of being as unique individuals, we would all get along much better and possibly be happier.
I've often been told I'm a great storyteller when I retell things that happened to my grandparents or ancestors. That doesn't surprise me, as my father was a great storyteller. From him, I learned how to captivate an audience and from my mother I learned how to charm it. However, I find that it's not so much your ability to tell a good story as much as what the takeaway is. What do people learn from it, does it actually inspire them to do something after? Maybe it was just meant to put a smile on their face.
You see, I might have this amazing, culturally diverse background, largely thanks to my parents and my travels around the world. I might have experienced different languages, food, sculpture, art, and music, but if my message is not poignant, succinct, and focused on what I'm trying to convey, then the whole exercise, as it were, would have been in vain and futile. One challenging thing I will share about my diverse background is having dyslexia that gets worse when I'm extremely tired, and having been diagnosed with ADHD by one doctor. These situations are not helpful when I am trying to organize the thoughts and ideas in my head when it comes to bringing structure to a storyline. This is why I recommend doing outlines and writing drafts first. Having a writing partner can make for a better story, too. Currently, I'm participating in a WIM Comedy Writer's Group, learning a lot, and improving my creative writing as well. We must always remain curious about others.
Looking ahead, what are your goals for Nadia Films, and what impact do you hope to make on the industry and the world through your work?
My immediate goal is to get more work, bring more production back to Los Angeles. After these devastating and tragic fires, folks need work more than ever. We want to be able to hire as many people as possible and help rebuild Los Angeles. I try and do my part to help those affected and support our firefighters, but what is really going to help rebuild on every level is having global corporations invest in Los Angeles and getting the current Administration to come through with what former President Biden promised, without any conditions attached.
I shoot a lot abroad and do a lot of non-union jobs as well, but I would really like to see us all collectively reach happy economic compromises that are mutually beneficial, which help bring us all more work and more robust budgets. We and many others had one of the worst years this past one. We had very few productions happening. The ones that I made happen were related to creative personal projects, mostly self-funded. On most of the jobs, I didn't get paid as a director or producer, nor did my partner if he was on the job. We did that in order to hire our crew at what would be their regular scale rate, even during the strike when we could have offered a lower rate but didn't. We wanted to keep them and their families or loved ones going. We wanted to keep them in business. We've all seen many companies close down. Many families have separated or left the state of California because they couldn't afford to live here anymore. We hope to bring more work and joy to people from all walks of life. We would like to see more brands take a chance on us as a Creative Collective and give us the opportunity to show them what we are capable of doing.
I hope to continue having a positive impact overall, one that brings messages of hope and humanity to the industry and the world. Having a positive impact requires leading by example. I strive to be the best person I can and to make my company the best it can be. I hope this inspires others to do the same and even be better than us.
For example, I'd love to see one of my female crew members win awards for Best Cinematographer, Best Sound Design, or Best Visual Effects at the Oscars or Golden Globes. I personally would love to win a Nobel Peace Prize one day, not just because my great-great-grandfather was good friends with the Nobel brothers when he lived in St. Petersburg, before one died due to the explosives they themselves manufactured. Winning an award like that has a profound meaning. It is a symbol of peace and a strong objection to war and anything that is destructive of humanity. My grandfather was a founding member of the Secretariat General of the League of Nations and miraculously survived the First World War and the Great Retreat over the Albanian mountains, where thousands died of starvation and frostbite. He later survived being torpedoed twice by a Nazi submarine when he was on the SS Washington, coming to the U.S. I can make him proud even after his death with any of my accomplishments, which pale in comparison, then I would be honored.
Is there anything we have not asked about that you would like to discuss?
I would just like to mention once again my docuseries on Powerful & Inspiring Asian Women, and if there is an executive or VP in Acquisitions from Apple TV, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO Max or even PBS reading this who would like to invest in bringing quality programming to their viewers, please reach out to me so we can work together.
The first episode, if sold, could help fund the next ones in a series of at least 12. It is doing very well at festivals and is incredibly inspirational. Once this one is sold, there will be potential to invest in three more series to follow after, each composed of 12 or 20 episodes. There are so many incredible women I have on my list who are ready to have their portraits done in terms of sharing their career and life stories, which
must be documented for Women's History.
What is your message for our Heart Of Hollywood Magazine readers?
Make the best of this year, 2025. Through your brilliant creativity and talent, show much love, compassion, empathy, courage, and, above all, humanity in your work.
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