Malachi Leopold

Malachi Leopold

How did you start LBRBP Productions and what is it?
In 2001, I went to a networking luncheon, and was seated next to an independent producer who was making his first feature film. At the time, I was working in investments and finance – I was a member of a venture capital club, so I invited him to meet some of the guys I knew there. He wound up getting his movie financed and even made a profit. So I saw the value in providing business advice to individuals who were primarily creative artists – and that was the birth of the “Left Brain/Right Brain” idea. That was about 10 years ago. Today, Left Brain/Right Brain Productions is a full-service video production company driven to enact positive social change. Unless any traditional commercial production company in Chicago, not only can we fulfill any need for video content, but when a company becomes a customer they also become agents of change. The bigger and more successful our clients and we become, the bigger and more sustainable our impact will be. Its Commercial Unit helps companies and non-profits advertise, market and promote their products and services with creative video content, resulting in increased revenues and brand loyalty. The Entertainment Group creates original documentaries, narrative films, and television programming which entertain their audiences, provide profits for their investors, and have social action campaigns implemented with them, giving practical tools for audiences to take part in creating positive social change.

What are two things you’d like Chicagoans to know about yourself?
1. I’m a man on a mission – a social entrepreneur with big ideas and the plans to make them a reality.

2. I need investments from Chicagoans who connect to what I’m about, and have the resources to help bring my ideas to life.

What are two things you’d like Chicagoans to know about LBRBP?
1. It’s a company on a mission, with big ideas and the plans to make them a reality.

2. It needs investments from Chicagoans who connect to what we’re about, and have the resources to help bring these ideas to life!

Also – I think it’s important to “think globally, act locally.” So how we do that is by having more of a global vision and purpose on the Entertainment side – for example, my film “22 Years From Home.” The film sheds light on the ongoing situation in Sudan, we partnered with the UN refugee agency USA for UNHCR, and have implemented a Sister Schools for Sudan initiative pairing high schools and universities here in the US as sister schools providing education for over 700 kids in southern Sudan. “Acting locally,” I really focus on building strong community relationships and partnerships here in Chicago through the Commercial Unit. For example, on the non-profit side, working with the Joffrey Ballet, Children’s Memorial Hospital, Starlight Children’s Foundation, local schools, and others that are providing resources which support and enrich the local community. On the for-profit side, our responsibility is to provide content that drives revenue for our customers – which helps support a strong local economy.

What’s next for Malachi Leopold?
My new project tackles “The Question of Islam for the West,” and is comprised of several true stories which are connected to this theme. They include a documentary and feature film based on the true life story of the “Bosnian Anne Frank”; a documentary and a feature film based on two true stories in Iran; and a documentary about ways individuals are tackling the Israeli/Palestinian conflict through the world of business.

My motivation comes from a variety of things – there are definitely roots in 9/11. I also have 5 family members deployed in Somalia, Afghanistan, and the Middle East. It bothers me that 2 billion people across the world have come to be, more or less, painted with the same brush stroke. Looked upon with suspicion and malice. I think Islam has come to replace what Communism used to be for the West – it’s the “Big Bad Wolf.” And I think there’s a real danger in that. For example, I don’t think most individuals know how diverse and multi-cultural (and pro-American) Iranians are. (Not the government, but the people!) I believe people are people everywhere you go – these billions of people include husbands and wives who both love and complain about each other. Siblings who fight for the bathroom, young boys who have crushes on their teachers, girls who dream of becoming stars. They debate politics, religion, they support charitable causes, they enjoy music, dancing, drinking, just living life! They have no interest whatsoever in “destroying the West,” they don’t hate freedom, they thrive on it! So this project is a way of telling great stories set in the context of this world, depicting their humanity, and giving viewers the chance to connect to real people who are just like them. It makes me laugh every time I read this section of my Bosnian friend’s diary, about her poster of U2 on her wall, and her dreams of becoming like Whitney Houston when she grew up – she probably had the same U2 poster I remember my brother having on his wall, and she was listening to the same Whitney Houston songs I heard on the radio in the Indiana town where I grew up. And yet here she was in 1992, a Bosnian Muslim in Eastern Europe, facing systematic genocide.

What do you love most about Chicago?
It’s a world-class city. World-class culture, arts, food, people, business, parks. I have yet to hear someone from the coasts who visits Chicago say anything but great things about this city. I love it!

What are you doing to help the Chicago Community?
Again, my personal values and goals are embodied in the day-to-day work of the company. It’s very purposeful – I don’t want making a difference to be an after-thought, something I do in my spare time when I have time, or something I give a certain percentage of company profits to. Each day, every day, we’re focused on running a profitable company that is making the world a better place at the same time – both locally here in Chicago, and globally with our films.