How Labid Aziz of People of Culture (PoC) Studios Is Helping To Make the Entertainment Industry More Diverse and Representative

…We need diversity in the people who help these stories come to life to truly protect and honor the authentic diverse voices that need a safe space to be the best version of themselves and to tell stories that might not otherwise be given an opportunity to be shared.

As a part of my series about industry leaders helping to make the entertainment business more diverse and representative, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Labid Aziz.

Labid Aziz is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of People of Culture Studios, a diverse and forward-thinking content studio offering an all-inclusive, true equity & equality approach to producing, financing, and distributing film/TV content that’s intended for a global audience — all under one roof.

Aziz is a multi-faceted media executive who brings a disciplined and balanced approach to art and commerce. Combined with his experience as an entrepreneur across film, television, technology, media, and trade finance, Aziz brings invaluable experience and varied perspectives to each of his endeavors.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Yes, I would love to share that story with you and thank you for asking. I was a second semester Senior at Brandeis University with no plans of grad school and no idea of where I was going to apply for work. I was graduating with a major in Psychology and a minor in Near Eastern Judaic Studies, so there weren’t a lot of options outside of more education.

Well, unbeknownst to me, some of the media work that I had done on campus was about to change my life forever. Because of my unique upbringing, (being of Bangladeshi descent born in Sweden, having spent time in Texas and then New Hampshire, with a stint at Phillips Exeter Academy and then Brandeis University all as a Muslim), I am what you might call a true global citizen and somebody who’s always been a chameleon who can adapt to whatever room and situation or audience I’m thrown into. As a result of this quality, I got along and still get along with anybody, from anywhere, at any time. I also happened to have been the emcee for numerous cultural shows on campus for various ethnic groups including the South Asian group. As the emcee for these shows and because I was lucky to have a number of friends who were theater actors and would-be filmmakers, I had the pleasure and the opportunity to make a ton of short films my freshman and sophomore year which then led me to take a documentary filmmaking course. Having witnessed the transformative power of media through these opportunities, I then decided to create short videos that ultimately were used to introduce me as the emcee for the cultural shows. I infused humor, drama and music to directly speak to the conflicts I was witnessing in the microcosm of our university which also were taking place in the world at large. Flash forward to my senior year, a friend approached me as I was walking down the hill past the library to the now gone but famous Ford Hall where I had a little office setup and was cutting videos, and said, “Labid, we just watched one of your videos in Gordie Fellman’s “Peace and Conflict Resolution” class and the video spawned a three-hour discussion of how we can address the problems you highlighted.” The way my soul felt at that singular moment was unlike any other feeling I’d ever had in my entire short life. And that’s when I told myself I want to feel this way every day for the rest of the time I have on this planet. Immediately, my future became crystal clear. I had to figure out how I could shape a life for myself trying to recreate that feeling, not just for myself but for everyone I work with. I then quickly galvanized with another friend of mine, Kenny Schnurr, to make a presentation for the then president, Jehuda Reinharz, Dean David Gould, and a few other Deans for that summer. The explicit goal of this presentation was to convince Jehuda and the five Deans attending that they needed to give me an opportunity to do one more year of education, paid by them, with a curriculum designed by Chuck Reed of the famous International Business School and Henry Felt, the talented documentary film professor on campus. This would give me the foundation to build a business future in media and communications where I might harness the power of media to affect policy at the state, local and federal levels. Kenny and I put the presentation together and we were so lucky that the president and the Deans agreed to our proposal! I was able to complete a fifth year at Brandeis, where we were also paid by the university to make videos concerning various aspects of the university. I was able to even make money before I graduated. By achieving this goal, I realized I was onto something. Also, as a byproduct of this effort, I was introduced to Mr. Arnie Reisman ’64 who needed cost-effective labor to make a commercial for Brandeis for a nationally televised basketball game. Since I had made a name for myself, everyone pointed him in my direction. Arnie quickly became not only a mentor but soon thereafter a business partner who truly shaped my career in ways I could never have imagined. RIP Arnie Reisman I ♥️ you very much. So that is how I ultimately started on this path that has led me to where I am today.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I think one of the most interesting stories that have happened to me since I began my career was that at the beginning of 2016, I got a call from a friend of mine who said he was in Beijing sitting with his cousin Dong-Joo Kim and wondered if I knew who that was. He simply stated that DJ Kim was the producer of the original OLDBOY film. I immediately told him that I not only knew the film, I almost knew it frame by frame and it was one of my favorite films. He then proceeded to tell me that he was sitting with DJ in Beijing and they were looking for somebody in Hollywood to help them and DJ build a Hollywood/West Coast office. If you’re not familiar with him, DJ KIM is now known as the Godfather of Korean Cinema. He was also doing amazing things in China at the time being backed by some of the biggest entities in China. I simply told my friend that he was talking to the exact person that he could not only trust but who could also help them in Hollywood. By that time I had already had over a decade of experience in entertainment and Hollywood and had come to Los Angeles to pursue a career in Hollywood. Upon DJs arrival in Los Angeles and after a week of karaoke, soju and lots and lots of Korean bbq, DJ looked me square in the face and said, “I trust you, please join me as COO of my new company and help me bring Chinese Money and my talents into the US and Hollywood”. He also said, “If we work together, we must grow old together” which is something I live by to this day. Starzione, which we launched in 2017 at Cannes, was the result of this union and effort. Unfortunately, it also coincided with the firewall between China and the US going up and the money quickly dried up by the end of the same year. But I am proud to say that because of our collective efforts, we were able to continue to bring money into the US from mainland China when no one else could until December of 2017!

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Well, I think all my mistakes are funny, and my job is to simply learn from all of them and not let them weigh me down. I constantly work to remember that life is nothing but a series of tests. And to paraphrase from Elon Musk’s playbook, being battle-tested is very important to a company or individual’s success. One mistake that comes to mind is me thinking my car died because I forgot to get the fuel gauge fixed, and only realized that the car was out of gas much later after spending hours waiting for a tow truck. My business mistakes as they happened were definitely not funny at the moment but I’m grateful that I’m able to look back and find humor in those mistakes and I was able to find the lessons in them that helped me grow. In truth, I credit all of my past mistakes for helping to shape the person I’ve become today and I also hope I will continue to reflect on and find humorous all new mistakes because there is a lesson in everything.

Ok thank you for all that. Let’s now jump to the main focus of our discussion. Can you describe how you are helping to make popular culture more representative of the US population?

To best answer this question I need to point to one of the catalysts for me moving to Hollywood back in 2004/2005. Some of my friends at NBCUniversal at the time informed me that NBC was spearheading a show called “Nevermind Nirvana”, a Cosby show for the South Asian community. Upon hearing about this effort, I felt nothing but pride and joy that we were going to potentially have a show about people like us: South Asians in America. I was so proud of whichever executive decided to push that agenda forward. However, soon thereafter, I learned that the show was having all kinds of problems getting greenlit or set up. I also noticed that, although the scribe was South Asian, there were no South Asians producing, directing, or potentially show running it. At that moment, things became crystal clear to me. We can have 10,000 diverse voices, actors, writers, producers and directors, but until we have people who look like us that are writing the checks or making the decisions, people will always work from a place of scarcity and fear — not abundance. In that one instance, I saw the beauty and the pain of it all and understood that you can’t blame anybody because people are ultimately trying to protect their job and trying to not make mistakes. With no disrespect to the amazing & talented individuals involved with the show, they didn’t have the representation from the top down who could possibly understand the nuances of being South Asian growing up in America, even with a South Asian scribe penning the script.

Just like I was inspired in college, this event also inspired me to say “Why Not Me?” And after a few more years in Boston just visiting LA, I made the decision to move to LA to try and learn the business as best I could and hopefully be the change I wished to see. I also knew I had to take a very non-traditional route which is what I have done over the last 15 years.

Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted by the work you are doing?

I would hope that if you asked Ms. Carol Rose, the Executive Director of the ACLU Massachusetts Chapter, if she was impacted by the work that I was doing back in the early 2000s in Boston with Mr. Arnie Reisman, that her answer would be YES! At the time, she was beginning her journey with the ACLU in Massachusetts and Arnie and I worked hard to shine a beautiful spotlight on her, her team, their work and her future goals. Whether through educational outreach media tools or through organizing fundraising events with comedians like Lewis Black we supported her early in her career. I believe she is now in charge of one of the largest and most impactful ACLU chapters in the nation and I hope that our efforts, in whatever little way, helped her achieve her dreams and more.

As an insider, this might be obvious to you, but I think it’s instructive to articulate this for the public who might not have the same inside knowledge. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why it’s really important to have diversity represented in Entertainment and its potential effects on our culture?

First, let me thank you for continuing to use the word diverse. Second, we must remember that we are all citizens of the world no matter where we live Today. People are influenced and impacted by distinct cultures and religions no matter from where our families originated. We truly are, first and foremost, global citizens. With that lens, there is no other way to see the world than to appreciate the diversity and the beauty in it. So, to answer your question in three parts I will say, 1) we need representation of all the voices that comprise the different people of cultures from around the world whether in our backyard, our front yard, or across the yard. 2) We need diversity in the people who help these stories come to life to truly protect and honor the authentic diverse voices that need a safe space to be the best version of themselves and to tell stories that might not otherwise be given an opportunity to be shared and 3) We need critical mass of diverse audiences showing up to support these diverse creatives and executives. We cannot forget the power of the wallet. We must fully understand there is an audience for any story, any genre, any ethnic background. We must simply take the time to understand from a cost perspective how much time, effort, and money should go into that story and then understand what it takes to market to that audience in the hopes of them showing up and achieving the desired financial results so we can go do it again. There is tremendous buying power in distinct and diverse communities, so we must be smart and savvy enough to know how to connect with audiences in authentic ways that will inspire them to support these projects spiritually, physically and financially. We need to create real revenue streams for this content because that is how we build an ecosystem that supports the artists and gives the true bosses, our consumers, stories they want and desire regardless of genre, budget, size of audience, etc. If we’re smart and taking full advantage of disruptive technology and creating authentic experiences, these ecosystems are not hard to build!

Can you recommend three things the community/society/the industry can do to help address the root of the diversity issues in the entertainment business?

1. Identify allies who can become Co-conspirators. No one can do everything, but with the right people you can do anything.
2. Know that this is a long game. There are no quick hits or easy answers. Strength, consistency and resolve are paramount to success. If you believe in achieving fundamental societal changes, just start and know it will take a long time (or a while).
3. Connect with people at a fundamental, human and spiritual level. And when you find someone with whom you connect truly and deeply, don’t be afraid to give them a chance to show you their superpowers and/or give them opportunities for internships (paid and unpaid) and/or jobs.

How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?

Leadership to me is a multi-pronged approach to building real enterprise value in whatever industry and whatever service, good, or solution you are going after. 1) It’s team-building. It’s being a people picker and taking time to see people for who they are, understanding their strengths and recognizing their weaknesses, and truly honing in on their superpower(s) 2) It’s creating a safe space. Again, to what I said above, when you create a safe space for someone, they can hopefully become the best version of themselves and then incredible and magical things begin to happen 3) It’s aligning values, culture and purpose. This way people show up not to do a job but to accomplish amazing things together 4) It’s inspiring people. I try not to ask anything of anyone. Rather, I want to inspire them to do something. Once they are inspired, incredible and magical things happen. 5) It’s about being humble and vulnerable. Own up to mistakes. I don’t have all the answers, nor will I ever say that. I also make mistakes and I own them right away. I see how this impacts others in a positive way. 6) Establish a “No-assholes allowed and leave your ego at the door” approach. I use the Harkness model of leadership which I learned at Exeter which is basically a roundtable approach to business.A true leader’s job is to establish a strategy and then chart a path for success as only a guide. If you use a true roundtable approach, then that strategy and path will continuously be refined, sharpened and destined for great success.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

1. Your network is your net worth. It’s more about building genuine human relationships as you walk through the journey of life than it is about business. In truth, as the cliché goes, we meet people for a reason, for a season or a lifetime. We just don’t know why at the time of meeting them! Only if you establish real relationships where you take the time to get to know the other will you ever have an iota of a chance to know why your paths crossed. As an example, when my sister and I drove across the country in 2009 and we were going through West Texas headed to El Paso, we were definitely warned to be careful because of the color of our skin. I had Carol Rose’s phone number ready to press send because I knew if I needed her she would be there for me!
2. Always be humble. I have definitely had points in my life where hubris was a leading character trait that deeply hurt family relationships, severed beautiful friendships and caused me to be an all-around jerk. Thankfully, life has a way of knocking you down in the hopes of keeping your ego at bay and my life is surely proof of that! I have a “Be Humble” sign on top of my home office door which I am staring at right now from my desk.
3. Love yourself the way God loves you. I can honestly say that it took me 47 years of living to fully accept, acknowledge and embrace this statement. I finally love myself, all of me, with all my flaws and mistakes and mishaps. I no longer have regrets. I no longer have trauma from the past. I have simply and fully accepted myself and I love every part of me.
4. Lead with Love. There is simply no other way. Especially when we are most worked up or upset or frustrated, just dig deep and lead with love. This doesn’t mean you can’t be firm, but if you lead with love then you also lead with respect, dignity and integrity. If you do this, the message will be received better and there is a much better chance at a positive outcome for all involved.
5. Be direct and honest. No matter the message and maybe find a way to couch the message, but always be direct and honest. It just saves time and heartache.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

It would be to invite anyone who is truly inspired by my words and actions and more importantly OUR words and actions to join People of Culture Studios on our journey. Every fabric of who we are is about fundamental and seismic changes in an industry full of legacy issues and misaligned interests where the preservation of capital and the preservation of talent are NOT the beacons that guide us and the concept of building generational wealth for the other is definitely not in the vernacular. PoC Studios is that movement and everything we do is about fundamental change from a business perspective with a societal angle. There is no lip service over here, there is only human service. And my only real job as a leader is simply to show what happens when someone who looks like me is leading with love, dignity, integrity and a true sense of responsibility.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I’ve got a few that are related

1. “Business is not difficult, people are, so choose wisely.” — Me

a. We should not chase someone because of WHO they are, we should take the time and invest in them if we love the WHY they are.

2. “Always consider investing in a grade A entrepreneur with a grade B idea, but never invest in a grade B entrepreneur with a grade A idea.” — George Doriot, one of the founders of modern venture capitalism

3. “There is no limit to the amount of good you can do, if you don’t care who gets credit” — Ronald Reagan, John Wooden, Ralph Emerson and others have all said a version of this.

PEOPLE, PEOPLE, PEOPLE. It always comes down to people, not business. Work with people who love giving credit, not people who need credit. Then the world can truly become your playground because you have people who will protect you just as hard as you protect them.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

Barack Obama. My life’s work doesn’t start nor end with Hollywood though Hollywood is a major part of my journey. I simply wish to use and harness the transformative power of storytelling that has existed from the dawn of time and inject it with love, dignity and FUN to begin the hard and long journey of healing the wounds left open by centuries of oppression, war, lawlessness, poverty and division. The work to build bridges and unite the unique, distinct and beautiful people from all different cultures around the world is just beginning.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

@hadjilove

This was very meaningful, thank you so much!