Labid Aziz is a strategic, operations-focused executive who understands the qualitative and quantitative elements needed to build successful companies. Aziz gained his operational knowledge while holding senior management positions in companies in the technology and media/communications industries during which he also gained significant experience in feature film finance and production. 

People of Culture Studios

Aziz describes PoC Studios as a uniquely diverse and forward-thinking content studio offering an all-inclusive approach to producing, financing, and distributing film and TV content intended for a global audience – all under one house.  From development to distribution, PoC Studios supports creatives with resources and infrastructure to bring to life the stories they care about most.

Among PoC’s initial slate is the film (and subsequent tv-series) Tokyo Under Night, (now out to talent), written by Academy Award® winner Ron Bass (Rain Man), a “Japanese Casablanca” featuring an historically important Japanese supper club in the 50s and 60s were influential people from all walks of life and countries co-mingled with fascinating results. Also on the slate is The Raj, a historical epic set in Raj-era India that deals with the nation’s fight for freedom against the British Empire. 

More interviews

Felix Xu and The Future Of Blockchain At The First Ever citiesabc & openbusinesscouncil podcast series

James Zhang, CEO The Concept Art House – Games, Art And NFTs

Adam Hollander, Serial Entrepreneur, Pack Leader at Hungry Wolves – NFT, Gamification

Interview with Rishi Kapoor, Founder & CEO of paus.tv – The Revolutionary Streaming Platform For Independent Creators

Interview Kireet Khurana, Filmmaker & Creator Of Animation Film “Toonpur Ka Superhero” – Homelessness In India: The “Invisible Visible”

Speaking about the mission of the studio, Aziz explains that: 

“We are the one-stop shop for ideation, development, finance, production, domestic distribution and global exploitation. We are designed from the ground up to help the massive independent space that lacks the Major Studio infrastructure to protect its content. And we work top down to maintain ownership & control of our IP in alignment with its creator as we help shape the pathway and trajectory of that IP towards potential 20+ year strategies. We manage and exploit all potential revenue for the benefit of our talent, our partners, and anyone else who brings real value every day to our IP and projects, who INSPIRE us to protect and reward them.”

Film production career

Aziz also explores his film production career, particularly the 2005 film, Raisins Not Virgins: Abdul. This film brings to light crucial issues for Americans both Muslim and non-Muslim in the time of tremendous political and racial turmoil. It begs to question people’s notion of entitlement, their identity and what it means to truly experience Jihad. 

“Who is more American and what makes us different? Is it not which makes us the same? As immigrants Abdul makes sacrifices for the family and for a better future in the land of opportunities – a reflection of what we are all seeing today and the misinterpretations of religious texts everywhere in all religions”.

Modes of storytelling

Aziz believes that storytelling is one of the ways in which we keep our culture alive. As he explained to Hilton Supra during the interview, this is especially important for communities of colour:

“Culture is above all, something we shouldn’t judge people on, we should try to embrace it. And that notion of culture I learned about in Brandice from the Jewish community. Lean back in to the purpose and mission mantra of ‘Using the transformative power of storytelling, injecting it with love, and dignity, and truth, and fun, telling stories of People of Colour to the world and hopefully in some small way be able to heal the trauma and the pain that so many People of Colour face and just unite through the transformative power of storytelling. That, as you know, existed since the dawn of time.”

On the use of technology in film

Aziz believes that in spite of what current trends in the technology world are, Blockchain and NFTs are going to stay in the film industry for the long term. 

“I think Blockchain, crypto, and even the dirty word NFTs right now, because some people don’t look at it fondly, I think it’s just an extension of kickstarter, and the crowdfunding that happened with that model, and allowing us to engage and then to be fully transparent in how capital is used and what the smart chain, smart contracts and what not are doing, so being okay with being transparent. It is good to be transparent. Let us be transparent and let us talk to the truth of the business and say ‘here are the pain points’ and here is how we are going to address them. Here is our model from development to monetisation and distribution.”

“If you give your audience a sense of ownership in what you’re doing, amazing things could happen, and we’re seeing this every day”.

About citiesabc.com
https://www.citiesabc.com/​​​​​​​​​​​
https://twitter.com/citiesabc__​​​​​​

About openbusinesscouncil.org
https://www.openbusinesscouncil.org/

4IR: AI Blockchain Fintech IoT Reinventing a Nation by Dinis Guarda and Rais Hussin (4irbook.com)

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

The post Labid Aziz, CEO of People of Culture Studios, Discuss A More Sustainable and Inclusive Film Business Model With Hilton Supra appeared first on OpenBusinessCouncil Directory.

Born in a family that was imbued with entertainment, Valentina Castellani found a bond with theatre and arts during her early life in Florence, Italy, watching ballet, classic opera, classical music, concerts, theatres, and plays. Pursuing her interests in designing and fine arts at the master’s level in Paris and New York, Valentina was fascinated by the world of art and creativity. After the painful and untimely demise of her husband, she found her ‘moment’, and created Quinn Studios Entertainment.

“Simple gestures in our life can really bend our destiny, shift our way of thinking, and make us see in a different way. We start making courageous choices and look ahead. So, that’s pretty much how I started production”, she recalls in the early moments of the interview with Dinis Guarda.

Taking Dinis on a journey through the rough patches in her life where she had to make bold and courageous choices, Valentina shares that the driving factor for any film is its content. If the idea and story are convincing, no matter what platform or film festival it is screened at.

“It’s the story that has to carry you, not vice versa. You have to find a way where the story is carrying you, where there is a thread, where you are following. Just like Hensel and Gretel with little white stones in the story, you know. Just like Cinderella with a fairy coming and putting on a dress and knowing that at midnight, the dress is gone, you know. So, in my case, this film is leading me. The story of the film is leading me.”

This thrilled Dinis into asking about what prompted her to screen some of the most unconventional films at the festivals. Valentina says that keeping a good portion of the budget for marketing is a smart choice that many young filmmakers fail to make. Adding to this, she also believes in focussing on the story and screening it on the most appropriate platform. This, according to her, makes a huge difference in marking the success of the creation.

“It is a very important thing to calculate the budget for the marketing campaign right away. And then, we have to have honesty. Is this an Oscar film or a more niche film? Where is it going to win? I mean, when we made The Butterfly’s Dream, we knew that this film could run for an Oscar. So, of course, the campaign was all geared towards that way”, she insists.

Despite being an admirer of films and arts, especially in the theatrical arena, Valentina appreciates the facility that digitised platforms offer, even in difficult times like the pandemic. However, she insists that the filmmakers believe in the story and let it guide the platform to screen it.

“You have a story to tell, where it’s going to go depends on how this story is told. I mean, imagine if Charlie Chaplin was dealing and dwelling on marketing changing and dwelling from ‘Oh, the movies are not silent anymore and stuff’, he had a story to tell with the tools of the moment, and he told the story.” She emphasises that if a story is good, it will create its own market by resonating appropriately with the audience.

Among the top influencers, Dinis is sensitive about creativity and arts making a powerful impact on society. He continues this custom to understand the impact films and creativity make on society as a whole. Valentina beautifully describes the role of digital tools in enhancing the humanitarian touch of creativity and arts. “We cry at the movie theatres, not because of a special effect, but because we feel an emotion that is close to us. Because we recognise a moment, a momentum, an emotion, a state of being”, she clearly explains.

Finally, concluding a marvellous session where the experts discuss everything from politics to leadership, arts, and creativity, Valentina says, “I would like to encourage people to think in a broader way instead of getting entangled with politics and blockages. With Politics and blockages, we don’t create, there is very little we can do. But, with spirit, with courage, with narrative, with creativity, there are millions of ways that can be expressed, created, found, you know, without being irrational.”

More Interviews

James Zhang, CEO The Concept Art House – Games, Art And NFTs

Adam Hollander, Serial Entrepreneur, Pack Leader at Hungry Wolves – NFT, Gamification

Interview with Rishi Kapoor, Founder & CEO of paus.tv – The Revolutionary Streaming Platform For Independent Creators

Interview Kireet Khurana, Filmmaker & Creator Of Animation Film “Toonpur Ka Superhero” – Homelessness In India: The “Invisible Visible”

Pedro Gadanho – Architecture, Arts, Cities & Society – Former MoMA & MAAT Curator, Architect

Susan Oh, Future of AI, Blockchain; Blockchain For Impact Global Summit @ UN HQ, Top 10 Frontier Women in Digital

Creating Quinn Studios Entertainment

Valentina created Quinn Studios Entertainment in 2012 in the loving memory of her husband, Francesco Quinn, son of Oscar-winning actor, Anthony Quinn. The company was created to establish the Quinn legacy in the field of arts, entertainment, and world peace. ‘Life on a Bike’ was the first documentary series filmed for television. It was based on an Italian pro cycling tour, Giro D’Italia, as an ode to his cyclist husband.

A special film, close to her heart, Valentina filmed this masterpiece after her husband, Francesco Quinn’s untimely death in August 2011. Sharing her filming experience, she says, “It was kind of insane. Being there and doing it that way taught me everything as a producer to just break the barrier of thinking. Find another way, think differently, and get out of the box. So, it was a great conquest, and definitely, it did heal me, and the kids, and it was an inspiring moment in understanding that the power of our imagination is way bigger than the power of pain.”

The production house has some very special names to its credit- ‘The Butterfly’s Dream’ (a candidate for Academy Award and Golden Globe 2014, as Best Foreign Movie. Also winner of 13 International Awards), ‘The Square’ (documentary on the Egyptian conflict, winner of Directors Guild Award 2014, Sundance Film Festival 2014, Berlin Film Festival, Dubai Film Festival), ‘One Rock Three Religions’ (Documentary film about Peace in the Middle East, winner of HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD, The US Congress Award Recognition for the film efforts to create dialogue among Countries, Religions, and Ethnicities, the Jury Grand Prix at the Siena International Film Festival, The People Festival in NY as Best Documentary, The Impact DOCS Award), Augie (on the extraordinary life of Augie Nieto, the Steve Jobs of the Fitness Industry), and ‘Wonderful Losers’ (2019 Academy Awards Candidate Best Foreign Film and winners of 11 International Awards).

About citiesabc.com
https://www.citiesabc.com/​​​​​​​​​​​
https://twitter.com/citiesabc__​​​​​​

About openbusinesscouncil.org
https://www.openbusinesscouncil.org/

4IR: AI Blockchain Fintech IoT Reinventing a Nation by Dinis Guarda and Rais Hussin (4irbook.com)

Dinis Guarda citiesabc openbusinesscouncil Series is also available on

Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music and top podcast directories.

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

The post Dinis Guarda Interviews Valentina Castellani, President And Chairman Of Quinn Studios Entertainment And An Award-Winning Film Producer appeared first on OpenBusinessCouncil Directory.

‘The Invisible Visible’, is an 81 minutes-long documentary that will be released mid-2022. It has been shot across Mumbai, Delhi, Patna, Dehradun, Kanpur and a few villages in Maharashtra and Bihar.

Khurana said: “India has the largest number of homeless people. It has over 70 million destitute citizens who have been denied their Constitutional right to shelter. The draconian Bombay Beggary Prevention Act 1959 has further criminalised them and made them vulnerable to incarceration, torture and dehumanisation.”

He added that the film delineates how the “marginalised and the disenfranchised have been left out in the cold and in some cases, exploited in shelters under the watch of the state, as happened during the infamous Muzaffarpur case, where hundreds of girls between 6 and 15 were raped, tortured and killed.”

This grim scenario is explored through the gaze of social organisation Koshish, which has helped countless traumatized homeless citizens, including the survivors from the Muzaffarpur shelter.

The film traces the inception of Koshish from the time in 2003, when Tarique, a 17-year-old student from the Hindu College went to a homeless shelter to distribute food and was devastated by the misery confronting him.

Khurana added: “At 23, Tarique started ‘Koshish’, and the film traces the organisation’s trailblazing grassroots work and its advocacy in synergy with intellectuals and policymakers to repeal archaic, anti-poor laws. We have also incorporated the views of eminent individuals, stakeholders, top lawyers and NGOs who stand up for the homeless to understand where the system is broken and how it can be fixed.”

The Award-winning filmmaker said that this is not just a film but a crusade to raise the “level of human conscience and build a momentum against the sordid Bombay Beggary Prevention Act, (1959).”

Khurana won his first National Award in 1995 for the animated film ‘Mahagiri’. He has made over 12 short films and over 500 ad films. He directed the animation called ‘Toonpur Ka Superrhero’, starring Ajay Devgan and Kajol.

His feature film ‘T for Taj Mahal’, which was released in 2018, was launched at the Festival de Cannes in the same year and premiered at the London Indian Film Festival.

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

The post Highlighting India’s Destitute Millions: Director Kireet Khurana’s Announces The ‘The Invisible Visible’ Documentary appeared first on OpenBusinessCouncil Directory.

Rishi Kapoor Interview Focus

1. Background on Rishi – Education and background

2. Background of creating Paus and putting things together

3. How does Paus TV works

4. You touched that 97% of creators don’t make any money. Can you tell us about that?

5. Creative economy – how do you see the challenges in these areas?

6. Film industry – Independent film – how do you see the industry? The digital transformation of the film industry?

7. IP and royalty in the film industry?

8. NFTs and film – how do you see this?

More Interviews

From The Oscars to Bollywood: Dinis Guarda Interviews The Multitalented Amrita Sen On Her Career In Music, Film And Design

Interview with Nick Jonsson – Co-founder & MD at EGN Singapore – Asia’s largest Confidential Peer Network for the C-Suite, International Best Selling Author

Interview with Prof Xiaolan Fu, Director of the Technology and Management Centre for Development TMCD – University of Oxford, Founder OxValue.AI

Daniel Doll-Steinberg, Co-Founder Of EdenBase, The Atari Token Project, Technologist, Former EU/UK Advisor

Interview with Alvin Foo – Co-Founder at DAOventures, Emerging Tech & Marketing Evangelist, AI, Blockchain, DeFi

Interview with Susie Wang – Director of Global Social Media & Spokesperson at Huawei Technologies

Rishi Kapoor Biography

Rishi Kapoor started his career working as a Runner for the BBC while he was still at University. After a few internships, Rishi joined Sony in 2011 as a Sales Coordinator. In his time at Sony, he worked in the digital (TVOD & SVOD) sales and distribution team, working with major digital broadcaster across Scandinavia and Benelux to assist the sales process:

• Contract/content licence and rights management, coordinated output deals with digital broadcasters across Scandinavia and Benelux.

• Worked with internal departments (e.g. product fulfillment, finance, legal) and operated bespoke IT systems to schedule content from a portfolio of over 3,500 titles.

• Tracked sales interests in key territories, included revenue recognition of titles for budgeting and budget forecasting.

• Daily interaction with international Sony Pictures offices such as legal & business affairs and fulfilment.

• Developed relationships with internal and external stakeholders. Provided product availability reports and liaised with clients on product selections.

That experience was key in designing his professional career in film and his interest in the entertainment industry. That took him to join NBCUniversal Media, LLC as International Account Coordinator in 2015. He was responsible for forming strong partnerships with key EST services: Google Play, Amazon, Apple iTunes and Microsoft, to lead new product/territory launches and to optimise Universal’s digital revenue opportunities for catalogue and new release content. Likewise, he was in charge of selecting key titles for seasonal campaigns, reviewed revenue reports to analyse campaign effectiveness and supported further deal negotiations with key TVOD players.

From there, he moved on to Warner Bros. Entertainment Group of Companies, taking the role of Senior Analyst, The President’s Office UK, Spain and Ireland 6 months later. He worked as Senior Business/StrategyAnalyst working within the President’s Office of UK, Spain and Ireland and providing support and insights for strategic decisions.

In 2018, Rishi Kapoor became an entrepreneur when he founded paus.tv.

Founding paus.tv

As a sole founder with no coding experience, Rishi launched a prototype in his room for £120 called ‘watchpaus’. He on-boarded several award-winning filmmakers and within a week managed to attract 50 paying users. Whilst ‘watchpaus’ was a rough, throw-away prototype to validate a certain user-behaviour, it was the first time he built a web-based product and surprisingly the feedback included comments on how professional the site looked. “This taught me the valuable lesson of always attempting new skills and never under-estimating one’s ability,” Rishi mentioned about this first contact experience.

About paus.tv

paus is a new video platform dedicated to supporting talented content creators and helping audiences to discover inspiring work. It is a platform powered by audiences to support great work without adverts.

With paus, filmmakers can get their content in front of an audience that embraces and supports them. Creators are invited to submit their shorts or docs to paus to share their work with a like-minded community of independent film fans. It’s free and quick to submit, and once films are live on the paus app, audiences and supporters can show their appreciation by leaving a tip.

The unique digital tipping feature allows audiences to tip any film or filmmaker they want to support – any amount from 10p to £1000+, at any time. paus is integrated with native digital payment methods, such as Apple Pay, so the process is quick and easy, and gets the tip to the filmmaker with no friction. Unlike other video platforms, the scales are weighed in the creator’s favour as they keep 80% of every single tip.

Vision About paus.tv

“paus is very simple. As a user, or audience member, a film fan, if you like watching content, you will watch stuff on Netflix or Amazon. You can go to Paus now, http://paus.tv, and you sign up for free very quickly, with an email address and a password, and you’re in, and you get to watch an unlimited supply of independent films, we have hundreds of films, across different genres, from factual to scripted, to animation, to drama, to comedy, you get to watch everything. And you notice, when you’re in there, that you’re not being charged a subscription, and you won’t be watching any adverts – what we do is very simple, we allow you, the audience at home, to pay what you want at any time during the film, using a hybrid mixture of approaches: Apple Pay, Google Pay, pay with your card. But it’s really that simple. Watch films. Pay what you want. Any time. Any amount. Anywhere.”

Rishi Kapoor Links And Sources

https://www.digitaltveurope.com/2020/02/19/indie-film-streamer-paus-announces-partnership-with-raindance/

https://www.maginepro.com/2021/07/30/qa-rishi-kapoor-founder-of-paus-shares-an-insight-into-their-unique-streaming-service/

https://paus.tv/

https://www.themoviebuff.net/2021/07/exclusive-interview-in-conversation-with-rishi-kapoor-the-brains-behind-the-indie-streaming-service-paus-%E2%80%A8/

https://www.f6s.com/rishikapoor5

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rishikapoor2

About citiesabc.com
https://www.citiesabc.com/​​​​​​​​​​​
https://twitter.com/citiesabc__​​​​​​

About openbusinesscouncil.org
https://www.openbusinesscouncil.org/

4IR: AI Blockchain Fintech IoT Reinventing a Nation by Dinis Guarda and Rais Hussin (4irbook.com)

Dinis Guarda citiesabc openbusinesscouncil Series is also available as podcast on

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dinis-guarda-citiesabc-openbusinesscouncil-series/id1510330391

On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1vA8KaDaRpJ0mAfpNbfTSF?si=H_WngL4RSOyu1W7VAmM41w&dl_branch=1

Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xMDMyMzg4LnJzcw==

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/953a5156-823c-4e86-baeb-4fda1128e44c/DINIS-GUARDA-CITIESABC-OPENBUSINESSCOUNCIL-SERIES

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

The post Interview with Rishi Kapoor, Founder & CEO of paus.tv – The Revolutionary Streaming Platform For Independent Creators appeared first on OpenBusinessCouncil Directory.