Lina Todd   [ resume ]

LINA TODD has worked extensively on more than forty feature films as a casting director and producer. Upon receiving a Masters in Directing from Columbia University she became involved in the downtown New York theatre scene as an actress and director. Lina began casting under the esteemed Howard Feuer. This mentorship led to her first film as casting director on Jodie Foster’s Little Man Tate. Always drawn to edgy, actor driven material, Lina made her mark casting for the former SHOOTING GALLERY, New York’s preeminent independent film company. Shooting Gallery credits include the Oscar nominated, Sundance winner, You Can Count on Me, starring Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo. Lina later served as the Shooting Gallery’s Vice President of Creative and Talent.

As an independent casting director, she has cast such notable films as Nicholas Nickleby (MGM/UA), which was nominated for a Golden Globe and awarded the Best Ensemble Cast by the National Board of Review; and the BAFTA-nominated Me Without You, starring Michelle Williams. Recent casting projects include Jennifer Lynch’s Surveillance (Producers David Lynch and Lago Film) featuring Julia Ormond and Bill Pullman; Life is Hot in Cracktown (director, Buddy Giovinazzo) with an ensemble cast including Kerry Washington, Evan Ross, Mark Webber, Shannyn Sossamon, Brandon Routh, and Lara Flynn Boyle; and additional casting for Hitman (Twentieth Century Fox and Luc Besson.)

Lina is the creator and program director of RISING STARS, the emerging actors showcase of the Hamptons International Film Festival. Now in its sixth year, the Rising Stars Program has become immensely popular with both industry and audiences, remaining unique among US film festivals. Mentors such as the legendary James Coburn, Gina Rowlands, Alec Baldwin, Joan Allen, Miranda Richardson, Ellen Burstyn and the late Robert Altman have presided over young talent including the Golden Globe winner, Emily Blunt. Lina has played a key role in establishing a relationship between the Hamptons and the Berlin International Film Festival. For the last seven years she has been the US mentor for European Film Promotion’s SHOOTING STARS PROGRAM at the Berlinale. As a result Lina has formed close relationships with European talent, agents and casting directors. In 2005 she was one of the founding members of the INTERNATIONAL CASTING NETWORK, further establishing herself as a liaison between the US and Europe.

Lina created THEODORA FILMS with Karen Arikian, the co-director of The European Film Market in 2006. Theodora Films is a company dedicated to producing, packaging, developing and consulting on films with a special interest in co-productions. Based in New York and Berlin, with several projects in development, the company seeks to build a solid bridge between the film communities of the US and Europe. Lina recently co-produced Day on Fire, by writer/director Jay Anania, starring Olympia Dukakis and Martin Donovan. The film premiered at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival, followed by a US premier at the Hamptons International Film Festival. The film’s European premier was at this year’s Berlinale.