International Documentary Assn. Names Brenda Robinson as President (EXCLUSIVE)

Dave McNary
·2 min read

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The International Documentary Association has named industry veteran Brenda Robinson as president of its board of directors, the first African American to hold the post.

Robinson, who joined IDA’s board in 2018, succeeds Kevin Iwashina, whose board term ends in December. Robinson officially begins her role as president immediately.

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The IDA noted that Robinson has strong family ties to the U.S. civil rights movement and is the niece of Rev. Jesse Jackson.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way to the continued growth of this organization and to lead us forward in fulfilling our mission of championing storytellers while creating a culture of inclusion,” said Robinson.

Robinson is an entertainment attorney who has acted as production counsel and executive producer for numerous documentary and feature film projects as well as scripted and unscripted television programming. She is a partner in Gamechanger Films, an equity fund that finances feature films and television series by women and diverse storytellers.

She is an executive producer on numerous projects including “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” for PBS’ American Masters series.

Robinson currently serves on the boards of Film Independent, Chicken & Egg Pictures, The Representation Project and Cinema/Chicago, where she also serves as official legal counsel to the Chicago International Film Festival. She is also a founding advisory board member of the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.

Iwashina joined the IDA board in 2011 and became president in 2018. He said in a statement, “I could not be more proud of what we accomplished as a board during both my term and my presidency. I am confident that Brenda’s leadership will be transformational for the IDA. Although my formal relationship with the organization is coming to an end, my enthusiasm for its long-term success does not, and I look forward to meaningfully supporting the organization in the future.”

Founded in 1982, IDA publishes Documentary magazine and each year honors the best in documentary storytelling at the IDA Documentary Awards. IDA’s biennial Getting Real conference is scheduled to take place online at the end of September.

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