HUBweek Change Maker: Lyda Kuth
Lyda Kuth, Executive Director, LEF Foundation
Lyda Kuth is a founding board member and current Executive Director of the LEF Foundation. She has been recognized by the Massachusetts Cultural Council with the prestigious Commonwealth Award and honored by Women in Film and Video New England with the Image Award for Vision & Excellence in the media arts. In 2011, she had her debut as director/producer with her film, Love and Other Anxieties; and served as executive producer for Secundaria, with director Mary Jane Doherty, which premiered in 2013.
How did you first become involved with film? What drew you specifically to documentary film? I am the executive director of a family foundation, LEF Foundation, that has been supporting the contemporary arts in Boston and New England since opening an office in Cambridge in 1992. One of the artistic disciplines we supported was film and video and it was one I came to feel very passionate about. It became increasingly clear that there was very little money to support this artistic discipline in Boston and in New England, and that our dollars there would have a major impact. This made it a “sweet spot” for us to invest in, for here was a rich pool of talent that was underfunded. So in 2001, we launched the Moving Image Fund and since that time we’ve awarded approximately $4 million dollars in grant funding to over 300 filmmakers. Our geographic guidelines are New England only, and if you were to ask a documentary filmmaker living and working in Boston or the region, they will know who we are. Many NYC filmmakers have expressed frustration that our geographic guidelines don’t extend further south beyond the Connecticut border.
Why is it critical to support New England documentary filmmakers in this way, and what drives your passion for this cause? Boston has a longstanding tradition of documentary filmmaking and recognized internationally as a center for innovation in the nonfiction form. Going back to the 1960s, groundbreaking work was coming out of Boston — due to innovations both technological and aesthetic, for they influence and drive each other — and this continues today. What I am most passionate about is LEF being part of this continuum through its support of documentary artists who are pushing the “adjacent edge” at this moment in time.
MIF’s mission also includes creating a strong community and sustainable support for artists and their work. How do you involve the larger community in this mission? Our goal with the Moving Image Fund is twofold — to support independent documentary film and video artists and to build a community of support around them. By this I mean creating conditions whereby they can thrive — opportunities for networking, knowledge exchange and skill building, investment, mentorship — not unlike those that grow up organically around other innovative endeavors such as technology, or entrepreneurship locally, which have a vibrant presence in Boston.
There are some very direct ways that we try to connect and encourage community in the region, such as the LEF sponsored screening series, The DocYard, in partnership with the Brattle Theatre. We look to act as a convener for filmmakers, producers, technologists and others in the region in an effort to inspire connection and collaboration.
LEF is just one of an array of people and organizations that support, exhibit, and are champions of independent media, many of them profiled in GlobeDocs, that make up this community of support.
You’ve acted as both a producer and a director over the course of your career. What was the most challenging aspect about the transition from producer to director, and how did you overcome it? I appreciate you making reference to my role as director/producer, since it has been 5 years since my documentary, “Love and Other Anxieties” had its premiere in 2011. What motivated me was a desire to be creative and finally allowing myself this in mid-life; and in my professional role as a funder; to “walk the talk” and understand what was involved in getting a film to the finish line. Needless to say, I no longer ask filmmakers why it’s taking them so long to complete their project. Like most, mine also took an average of 5 years to complete.
You recently announced a $195k set of grants to be awarded to independent documentaries in New England. Can you tell us a little bit about the awardees? What made them stand out? Truly, each one is unique and so I would encourage anyone interested to look at the list to be inspired by the breadth of talent in the region. I do think this list of recent grantees, like those of the past, reflects a variety of content and cinematic approach that is one of LEF’s signatures. We aren’t wedded to one kind of content, or one kind of form, but interested in artists’ expression of their vision and growing in their practice. We let them lead.
Discover more about how Lyda and the LEF Foundation are supporting documentary filmmakers in the creation of new work at their website and explore more documentary film at the GlobeDocs Film Festival during HUBweek 2016. Lyda was recently quoted as a Change Maker in HUBweek’s 2016 Preview featured in The Boston Globe.
The HUBweek Change Maker series showcases the most creative and innovative minds in art, science, and technology making an impact in Boston and around the world.
