40 under 40 – 2017 winners

Brenda Brkusic

Brenda Brkusic
Los Angeles, California.
PBS Television Executive-Producer. Emmy Award-Winning

TV Producer and Award-Winning Filmmaker. Father from Bogomolje, Hvar. Mother from Jezera, Murter.

Brenda Brkusic is a six-time Emmy Award winner and a seasoned television executive with over 10 years of experience in program development and production. As the Executive Producer pf Program Development and National Productions, Brenda directs the acquisition, development, production, distribution and marketing of programs and series for national broadcast on public TV. As a filmmaker she has been recognized on the Congressional Record of the US House of Representatives for her work promoting human rights through film, and at the International Leader’s Summit at the European Union in Brussels.

At the age of 21, while still a film student at Chapman University, in 2004 she took on the arduous task of funding, writing, producing, directing, editing “Freedom from Despair” a feature documentary film about the the Croatian people’s struggle for independence which was screened in multiple countries including Croatia won high critical acclaim and recognition.

Brenda has continued in her mission to tell the stories of her parent’s homeland. She coproduced the film Mia, A Dancer’s Journey, a biopic about the famous Croatian ballerina Mia Slavenska which won Brenda her fourth Emmy Award. She won her 5th and 6th Emmy Awards “China’s Challenges: Can China Be Harmonious?” and “Variety Studio: Actors on Actors”, a series she Executive Produces, now in its 5th season, featuring acclaimed film and TV stars such as Will Smith, George Clooney, Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey, BenStiller, Ethan Hawke, Mark Wahlberg Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Oprah Winfrey, Martin Scorsese, Lady Gaga, Steve Carell, Keira Knightly, Reese Witherspoon, Michael Keaton, Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Lopez, John Travolta, Amy Schumer and more. Brenda is also an active member of the Producers Guild of America and the Television Academy, where she serves on the L.A. Area Executive Committee.

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