Philippe Diaz selected as one of ten 'Moviemakers Making a Difference' by: MovieMaker magazine (Read The Full Article) (.pdf)

Born in Paris France, Philippe Diaz studied Philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris, and began his film career as a director in 1980.  After directing and producing several short feature and documentary films, commercials and corporate videos, Diaz moved fully into the producer’s role with his first feature film, “Havre” by Juliet Berto (cult actor/director of the French New Wave). His second feature, “Rue Du Depart” by Tony Gatlif (“Gadjo Dilo”) starred Gérard Depardieu, winning several Grand Prize awards at major international festivals.

His third feature, “Mauvais Sang” by Leos Carax (the first film about AIDS) became an international hit, winning one of most important awards in France, the 1986 Louis Delluc award, and was also nominated for 3 Césars (the French Oscar) as well as winning major awards around the world. This was a movie known for defining a generation, as well as for launching the careers of Juliette Binoche and Julie Delpy.

Recognizing an opportunity, Diaz added a distribution division to his production company, Films Plain Chant, to specialize in distributing feature films by “author/directors” such as “Bless Their Little Hearts” by Billy Woodberry and “Candy Mountain” by acclaimed American photographer Robert Frank (produced by Diaz featuring Kevin J. O’Connor and Tom Waits).  This launched Diaz into English language international productions.

His fourth production in 1989, "Pierre Et Djemila" by Gérard Blain (a political Romeo and Juliet), represented France in the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

Continuing his search for new talent and for producing films that appeal to global audiences, Diaz produced THE BENGALI NIGHT (shot in English in India) that launched the career of director Nicholas Klotz and featured Hugh Grant in his first leading role along with John Hurt and Indian mega-star Shabana Azmi. This film marked the beginning of Diaz's, collaboration with American studios, in particular Columbia Pictures, and the opening of his first US based production company in Los Angeles, Sceneries Entertainment.

Soon after, New Line Cinema tapped Diaz to co-finance and produce "The Man Inside", a political thriller directed by Bobby Roth with Jurgen Prochnow and Peter Coyote.

After moving to Los Angeles in 1991, he has continued to produce films with budgets ranging from $200,000 and $15 million under his production shingle. With "Heavy Metal 2000", he was able to broaden his production knowledge with the animated production and his collaboration with Columbia / TriStar.

In 2003, he created Cinema Libre Studio, with a consortium of partners to provide an alternative structure for intelligent, independent films to get developed, financed, produced and distributed.

For a complete list of production credits: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0225034/

After graduating from U.C. Berkeley, Portello wanted to make movies.  So, she did the logical thing and moved to Portland, Oregon.

A temp gig at Nike led to a ten-year career in Sports Marketing. After Nike, she joined Adidas during the brand’s comeback.  During her eight-year tenure at Adidas, she contributed to re-building the brand, first as a Promotions Manager handling collegiate basketball endorsement relationships then promoted to Event Manager where she oversaw events across the sport spectrum.  Her contributions expanded when she was promoted to Director of Events, where she oversaw the brand’s major events including the NCAA Final Four, Women’s World Cup, (Men’s) World Cup and the Olympics in Atlanta and Sydney as well as annual corporate events and tradeshows. Before leaving Adidas, Portello was a Brand Concept Manager and led the development and execution of a global marketing campaign around Los Angeles Laker, Kobe Bryant. 

Relocating to Los Angeles in 2002, Portello was one of the founding partners of Cinema Libre Studio and is currently producing her first film, “Phenom”.

Richard Castro joined Cinema Libre Studio in 2004 to establish its grassroots outreach department, helping to launch the theatrical campaign of “Uncovered: The War on Iraq .” Working on the distribution of numerous documentaries, including “Outfoxed,” “WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception,” and “The Future of Food,” he was eventually named Vice-President of Theatrical Distribution and has been responsible for the release of such socially significant films as “Voices In Wartime,” “The Empire In Africa,” “Desert Bayou,” and “Angels In The Dust.” Independent narrative releases under his watch have included the 2006 Cassavetes Award winner “Conventioneers” and “Raising Flagg” starring Oscar® winner Alan Arkin.

In addition to overseeing the studio's theatrical department, Castro is also executive producer of its "Speaking Freely" DVD series. In 2007, he served as associate producer on the feature film "Now & Later" and followed that as co-producer of the documentary "The End of Poverty?" which is scheduled to open in Fall of 2009.

His past experience includes production work on the ABC sitcoms "Perfect Strangers" and "Family Matters" and in the domestic distribution and international divisions of 20th Century Fox and Fox Video, respectively. He holds a Bachelors degree in Psychology from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles .