Behind the camera, Lydia has done it all!
Juggling deadlines, orchestrating crews, balancing budgets, securing, scheduling, delivering (all while maintaining the peace)-- this is one woman who knows how to run a show.
Lydia first took a hiatus from performing to working behind the camera assisting Filmmaker Robert Townsend. One of the projects she worked on as associate producer that she is most proud of is Why We Laugh, a documentary on the history of African American comedians from slavery to present, including interviews with such legends as Bill Cosby, Dick Gregory, Chris Rock and the Wayans. The film received critical acclaim at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.
Another project she has assisted Robert on PIC.tv is the award winning web series Diary Of A Single Mom, starring Monica Calhoun, Billy Dee Williams, and Richard Roundtree.
Ready to start creating your own content? Here’s a handy guide from Lydia on that will get you on the right track!
“When I worked on Why We Laugh, I had the best time. It was like being in comedy university for a year and a half being able to go through tons of comedy footage from the early 1900s to 2008 and study the great African American comedians during that time. It was so thrilling for me.”
“In the Hive was great because I worked with Loretta Divine, Michael Clarke Duncan and Vivica Fox, who was magnificent in the role of a single mom who couldn't cut being a mom.”
“I was blessed to be given the opportunity to produce this romantic comedy featuring Robert Townsend, Sally Richardson-Whitfield and Jenifer Lewis.”
“Common Sense Mamita is my self-produced weekly 'edutainment' web series that mixes spicy with an irreverent wisdom in presenting an in your face dose of tough love honesty”
“While working on Los Americans, the thing I loved most was actually working closely with the creator, writer, and director, Dennis Leoni. I loved his process, and that it gave me the opportunity to work with one of the industry's finest casting directors, Eileen McKnight.”
“Working on Making the Five Heartbeats was exciting, first because it is about an iconic 80's film that is still going strong today. But what I loved most was once it was finished, I was able to submit it to the Academy for consideration in the documentary category as well as for an NAACP Image Award nomination and create campaigns for it, and the film ended up getting an NAACP Image Award nomination.”