International Documentary Association Appoints Three New Board Members

April 11, 2018 (Los Angeles, CA) - Today, the International Documentary Association announced the appointment of Leslie-Anne Faireshire, Chris Perez, and Brenda Robinson as new members of the Board of Directors. In addition, IDA Director of Filmmaker Services Amy Halpin has been appointed the Deputy Director of the organization.

“We are thrilled to welcome Brenda, Leslie-Anne and Chris on to the IDA's Board of Directors,” said Simon Kilmurry, IDA’s Executive Director. “Each of them brings a wealth of experience and talent to IDA. They will be key allies and counselors to ensure that IDA's work is effective as we continue to grow, seek to serve more filmmakers and support an expanding documentary community.”

"I'm excited to partner with Simon, our leadership team, and our dedicated board of directors to plan for IDA’s future and respond to what feels like an ever-increasing demand for our services,” Halpin added. “I'm looking forward to working even more closely with them to tackle some ambitious and exciting goals during the coming years." 

Following a successful career as an International Banker, Leslie-Anne Faireshire's passion for film led her to film school in London and subsequently to open her own production company in 2012. In a short time, she was already making waves in the industry with completed projects including a feature film and four other projects currently in production. One of her recent feature productions, 6 Weeks to Mother’s Day, premiered at DOC NYC in 2017.

Chris Perez joined Donaldson + Callif, LLP in 2009 and became a partner in the firm in 2014. Chris specializes in all aspects of the firm’s practice, including representing independent filmmakers through financing, production, rights clearance and distribution.

Chris has also contributed to several of the firm’s advocacy projects. Beginning in 2009, Chris and Michael Donaldson successfully appealed to the U.S. Copyright Office to allow documentary filmmakers to secure an exemption from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) for extracting material from commercial DVDs for use in their documentary films under the doctrine of fair use. In 2012, Chris and Michael were able to renew the exemption and expand access to online sources, and in 2015, they secured an even broader exemption for documentary filmmakers so they may access material from Blu-ray discs.

Brenda Robinson is an entertainment attorney and Chicago native who currently serves as Director of Business Development for the Los Angeles law firm Greenberg Glusker LLP. Brenda’s prior law practice focused on intellectual property and entertainment matters on behalf of clients in the music, film and television industries. Throughout her career, Brenda has provided counsel to numerous recording artists, musicians and composers, actors and actresses, production companies, authors, arts organizations, athletes, entertainers and social media influencers. Brenda has also been an executive producer on numerous documentary and narrative projects.

Brenda is a graduate of the University of Michigan and obtained a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She is a member of a film investment group, Chicago Media Project, which provides funding and support for filmmakers and storytellers who focus on social impact documentaries and narrative features. Brenda is also a member of The Recording Academy, a patron of the Arts Circle of Film Independent and serves on the Women at Sundance Leadership Council.

Amy Halpin is the Director of Filmmaker Services at the International Documentary Association (IDA). With the organization since 2006, she has worked closely with hundreds of independent documentary filmmakers, with a special focus on consulting and advising on all aspects of documentary funding. Amy is responsible for the design, planning and implementation of all of the organization's filmmaker services. 

The programs she has helped develop or oversee in her tenure at IDA include the organization's field leading Fiscal Sponsorship Program, which administers over 8 million dollars in philanthropic funding to independent documentary projects each year in both the US and abroad; the Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund, an annual competitive grant program that supports documentaries addressing pressing US issues; the IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund, which supports independent documentary films that integrate journalistic practice into the filmmaking process; the DocuClub work-in-progress screening series in New York and Los Angeles; and Getting Real, IDA’s flagship bi-annual conference, which brings together hundreds of filmmakers and industry leaders to confront critical issues facing the field. In 2017, together with the Sundance Documentary Film Program, Amy co-led the Documentary Core Application Project, a collaborative effort by documentary grantors to standardize application requirements, with the aim of fostering a more equitable and sustainable documentary field. Before joining IDA she worked as an associate producer of non-fiction programs airing on The History Channel, A&E, Lifetime, ESPN, Bravo and TLC.