Victoria Murad

Victoria Murad grew up in Minnesota and is the second oldest of five children, where she honed her natural leadership skills by directing her siblings in the Wizard of Oz and other productions. Her nickname is "Vicktrola" and she is known for talking fast with a big imagination and even bigger ideas. Growing up, her home was filled with books on philosophy, classic literature, dance, Impressionism, movies and film history. Her parents both loved music and the performing arts -- her mother is a writer, teacher and former dancer, and once retired, her father became a stage, film and voiceover actor. George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" was played frequently in her home, along with popular show tunes from musical theatre. The family also had a yearly subscription to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and its Children's Theatre Company. After graduating from the University of Minnesota with a BA in Humanities, she moved to Seattle, WA and worked as an arts fundraiser and administrator for the Olympic Music Festival and On the Boards. Her breakthrough came when she discovered the Artist's Way by Julia Cameron and decided to take screenwriting and filmmaking at the Seattle Film Institute, where she earned a 9-month certificate in filmmaking with an emphasis on Super 16 film. She made her debut film, "Tough Cookies," and earned her certificate. She was accepted to the master's film production program at Chapman University in Orange County, CA and enrolled for one semester. She then moved to Los Angeles and worked as an actor, associate producer, writer and script supervisor on a variety of independent short films and PSAs. In 2011, she founded "Fade In," a writer/actor monthly collective dedicated to creating and completing scripts for film, television and new media productions. An active member of Film Independent, Women in Film, the African Artists' Association and Dallas Travers' Thriving Artist Circle, she is committed to her craft as a writer and creative producer. Artistic collaboration and innovative storytelling form an integral part of her work. With this in mind, she formed Lila Cardea Productions. Lila Cardea is the ancient Roman Goddess of the doorway and hinges. Victoria Murad's mantra is "Roles for Women! . . . and the Men who love them."