Biography
Veteran filmmaker Julia Verdin is a versatile talent—renowned as a producer, award-winning director, and screenwriter. With 30 years in the film industry, she has become a prominent independent producer in Hollywood, having produced over 36 critically acclaimed feature films. Since 1995, she has led Rough Diamond Productions.
Among the notable films Julia has produced are 2 Jacks, directed by Bernard Rose and starring Danny Huston, Jack Huston, Sienna Miller, Jacqueline Bisset, and Billy Zane; Stander, directed by Bronwen Hughes, featuring Thomas Jane, Deborah Unger, Dexter Fletcher, and David O'Hara; The Merchant of Venice, released by Sony Pictures Classics, directed by Michael Radford with Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, and Joseph Fiennes; and Riding The Bullet, based on a Stephen King story, directed by Mick Garris, starring David Arquette, Jonathan Jackson, Erica Christensen, and Barbara Hershey. Her faith-based film, The Least Among You, a Lionsgate release starring Lou Gossett Jr., Lauren Holly, and William Devane, was featured in major festivals and nominated for two N.A.A.C.P. awards. Julia also executive produced the 2015 Lionsgate film Born of War, directed by Vicky Jewson and starring James Frain and Sophia Black D'Elia.
Julia’s films have been showcased at major festivals such as Sundance, Toronto, Venice, AFI, Raindance, Vancouver International, and London. Her background in acting enhances her ability to support actors and elicit strong performances, while her producing experience helps her maintain budgets without compromising creativity.
Her directorial debut, Lost Girls, starring Bar Paly, Marisol Nichols, and Jamie Harris, received multiple awards including Best Social Impact Film at the Culver City Film Festival. The film has been used in educational programs on minor sex trafficking and screened by various organizations and communities, currently in distribution.
Angie: Lost Girls, the first feature she directed, wrote, and produced, had a limited theatrical release in December 2020 at a drive-in due to COVID-19, distributed by Freestyle in the U.S. and Jinga Films worldwide. The film, again focusing on child sex trafficking, explores a victim’s struggle to reintegrate with her family, rebuild self-worth, and face ongoing threats from traffickers. It stars Olivia d’Abo, Dylan Sprayberry, Anthony Montgomery, Randall Batinkoff, Jane Widdop, M.C. Lyte, and Amin Joseph. Her second feature, MAYA, currently in post-production, highlights how vulnerable teens without support can be lured online by traffickers. It stars Patricia Velasquez, Rumer Willis, Gian Franco Rodriguez, Rena Owen, Anthony Montgomery, and newcomers Isabella Feliciana and Billy Budinich.
Julia directed a short promo for GIFT (Global Initiative Fighting Trafficking) and two short films, Brown and The Inheritance, created in collaboration with the nonprofit Kids in The Spotlight. These films were written and performed by foster youth. Brown premiered at Paramount Studios in November 2019 and screened at several festivals. The Inheritance debuted at the Orpheum Theater in November 2021.
She is the founder and board member of Artists For Change, a 501(c) nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness about critical social issues through film and media.
