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Filmmakers Leonor Anthony & Nima Soofi

Filmmakers Leonor Anthony & Nima Soofi

Introduction to Leonor Anthony + Nima Soofi. 1:56 min. Interview: Raymond Elman.  Post-Production: Lee Skye.  Recorded at the Historic Hampton House.  4/30/2025, Miami.

 

Editor’s note:  We previously published two ArtSpeak video conversations with Leonor Anthony: (1) as an artivist who created the extraordinary book “Sounds of Freedom” with photographer Roberto Polillo, and (2) as an artist-in-residence on a tall ship in the artic.

 

LEONOR ANTHONY is a Cuban-born multidisciplinary activist artist based in Miami, Florida. She is an accredited scholar, artist, photographer, curator and published author. She is known for her courageous use of materials and for creating works that invoke awareness to some of the most important social and environmental issues of our time.

Anthony is recognized for using art as a vehicle of activism. She explores limitless styles, materials and unprecedented assertiveness, characterized by violently expressive color and jarring compositions. Through these elements, Anthony is able to bring light to issues ranging from immigration, women’s empowerment, and environmental preservation.

She is the co-author of the critically acclaimed book “Sounds of Freedom.” The book is in the collection of the US Library of Congress as well as President Barack Obama’s personal collection.

Her work is in permanent collection of the Jefferson City Missouri Museum of Modern Art  and Museo Contemporaneo de Valencia , Venezuela. A monumental installation currently in production ( The Last Supper ) will be part of the permanent collection of the Junmao Museum of Contemporary Art in Cancun , Mexico, which she co created with internationally renowned architect Raul Huitron.

Her project “Sustaining Love” was exhibited during the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Summit in Glasgow Scotland ( COP26 Summit ) in an exhibit named Harbinger, The effect of climate change on marginalized women of color, and at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art , from Dec 26/2021 to Feb 26/2022 .

In October 2022 she was awarded The Arctic Circle Fellowship and sailed the waters around the North Pole with 27 Artists and scientists in an unequaled and exclusive ecological Artist Residency. As a result of this experience, Anthony is currently producing, directing and editing her first full length documentary film titled “Ice Breaking” and a book of poetry titled “Arctic Visions : Poetry and Images from a Changing Landscape” with fellow artist photographer Roberto Polillo.

In 2024, she collaborated with filmmaker Nima Soofi to create the documentary “Opera’s Vanishing Voices.”

 

— https://www.leonoranthony.com/

 

NIMA SOOFI won the prestigious Zoom Film Festival Award in high school. Following high school, he received a scholarship to the Vancouver Film School (VFS). While finishing two degrees in Film Production and 3D Animations at VFS, he also earned a BA majoring in Film from Simon Fraser University. He has worked on many independent documentaries and as an editor at Bodog. Soofi co-founded Qube Film, a boutique film company located in central downtown Vancouver, where he gathered a group of talented professionals. In 2012, Soofi moved to New York and opened a branch of Qube Film in the US to expand his network beyond the borders of Canada. Since then, he has been actively involved as a director and lead editor for over 100 TV shows, feature films, documentaries and commercials.

 

— https://qubefilm.com/

 

The videos below are organized by Success Factor, and run between 30 seconds and 6 minutes. Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.

 

TRAILER FOR “OPERA’S VANISHING VOICES”   2:24 min.

Trailer for “Opera’s Vanishing Voices,” created by Leonor Anthony & Nima Soofi.

 

EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES:   1:42 min.

Where did you grow up, and what was your first awareness of art of any discipline?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:   3:25 min.

What was the first movie theater experience that you remember?

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND:   1:21 min.

I was going to ask you when you started to think about stopping painting and engaging with the film industry, but in reality, you have been in the industry for a long time.

 

PERSEVERANCE FURTHERS:   1:05 min.

When did you realize that a career in filmmaking was possible for you?

 

OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED:   5:20 min.

What inspired you to make the film “Opera’s Vanishing Voices,” and how did your vision for the film evolve?

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND:   1:22 min.

Are there other documentary films that explore the state of opera?

 

SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES:    0:59 sec.

What’s on your drawing board?

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND:  2:01 min.

Compare and contrast your experience as a filmmaker and as an artist.

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:   3:09 min.

Who are some of your role models or influencers?

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND:   1:53 min

So far we have discussed documentary films. Do you want to make feature fiction films too?

 

CREATIVE FLEXIBILITY:    0:46 sec.

What’s your favorite movie?