Editor’s Note: Supporting women should not be limited to a month. So at Reel 360 News, we have decided to amplify and promote dynamic women’s voices all year long. Today, let us introduce you to a very talented woman – award-winning production company PRETTYBIRD President, Ali Brown.
Ali Brown brings her expansive knowledge of industry production and distinct storytelling to her role as President of the award-winning production company PRETTYBIRD and Academy Award-nominated creative studio Ventureland. Widely recognized for the authentic and innovative content she executive produces, PRETTYBIRD’s work continues to make an impact on a global scale with memorable wins from Cannes Lions, One Show, Clio Awards, D&AD, and the AICP Awards, as well as being named Ad Age’s Production Company of the Year, twice.
In 2020, Brown co-founded Ventureland alongside Oscar-winning producer John Battsek and PRETTYBIRD partners Kerstin Emhoff and Paul Hunter. Brown has produced both scripted and unscripted projects, including the Hulu docuseries Searching for Soul Food featuring Chef Alisa Reynolds, and the upcoming Apple TV+ series Government Cheese starring David Oyelowo.
Under her leadership, Ventureland’s episodic and feature film projects include the Academy Award-nominated documentary Bobi Wine: The People’s President, Emmy-winning The Deepest Breath, and PGA-winning BECKHAM.
Brown has also served two terms as AICP/West President, was selected for a panel at Ciclope 2024, and was AICP Show chairperson for 2020 and 2021. She notably served as the President of the Young Director’s Award Jury at Cannes 2018 – making her the first female president in the show’s 21-year history.
In 2020, Brown created “Double the Line” – an initiative supported by AICP’s Equity and Inclusion Committee, which gives production and post-production companies, agencies, and clients the ability to create access and opportunity for BIPOC crew. Brown, together with Kerstin Emhoff, was also named a finalist for Creativity’s Diversity & Inclusion Champions of the Year for 2021.
Let’s meet Ali!
What’s your origin story?
My origin story would take too long to print, so here are the highlights:
I’m a Chicago girl who started working from a very young age through college, juggling a lot of different kinds of jobs, big class load, and extracurricular interests. I became a master multi-tasker who couldn’t say no, wanted 24 more hours in a day, and was always more interested in what was around the corner than what was in front of me. I am exactly that same person now.
How did you break into production?
I sent a fax to a production company that needed a temp receptionist for 5 days the Fall after I graduated college. I was working as a substitute teacher and a hostess at a restaurant. The company called me, I showed up in my cutest Forever 21 outfit, and in the course of those 5 days the company installed a new phone system. Guess who was the only one who knew how to use it? That’s right. Me.
When the real receptionist came back from her vacation, she told the owner of the company she was promoting herself to office manager, and keeping me as the receptionist to answer the phones. She’s still my friend today. And the PA she hired 2 weeks later is now my husband. She taught me to keep climbing and I haven’t stopped.
Who were your mentors, and how did they influence your journey?
Donna Mavros, my high school theater teacher gave me a strong foundation and believed in me in a way I’m not sure anyone else has since. She taught me confidence which has helped me throughout my career. Forest Whitaker taught me that you can be successful by being kind and generous without needing to be ruthless. And Kerstin Emhoff combined those earlier lessons and put them to use into teaching me how to run a company in a way that is strong but thoughtful.
What fuels your creativity?
Storytellers. Whether they are directors, novelists, podcasters, filmmakers, or playwrights – I cannot consume enough stories or be more fascinated by those who tell them. They make me want to support them, fight for them, protect them, and be them.
What’s the biggest myth about women in your field?
That they aren’t as tough as the men. I initially thought the women in this business were less ruthless and that’s not the case. The way they play the game is different, but wow do they play it. It always shocks me that someone I consider a friend in this business can simultaneously be supporting me and trying to take talent from me.
But I am learning that I shouldn’t see those as mutually exclusive. It’s just business and they don’t conflate that with how they feel about me personally. It shocks me still, but I’m learning to be more zen about separating the two, but women play just as hard. Don’t be mistaken.
Name a creative risk you took that paid off.
Building the roster we have. We never signed directors based on billings. We signed based on someone within the company believing deeply in the talent. So our roster has always looked different than others with directors who didn’t have the same level of experience as the more established rosters, but we’ve managed to build them into a brand that stands for pushing boundaries rather than staying safe.
Also launching the film and TV company Ventureland which I founded with my partner Kerstin… right before the pandemic! Rather than shut down, it’s already been Oscar-nominated and won multiple Emmys and other awards.
What’s your take on the rise of AI?
It’s happening, so I should probably learn how to use a computer. I’m a bit of a Luddite. I just hope that it remains a tool that still requires the human mind to guide it.
What’s a piece of advice from another woman you carry with you?
I was frustrated one day at the office about one of our employees and how they were approaching a project and Kerstin said – “If you create a company full of people that are just like you, you’ll never have a successful company.” That wisdom around garnering people that complement your talents, not imitate them, has never since been lost on me and is an important one for any woman creating a business.
Are you rebooting Soul Train, American Bandstand or MTV Spring Break?
In Living Color – Fly Girls supersede all these.
How do you balance ambition with self-care?
I think about it carefully then I slide all the chips over to ambition!!!!
You’re writing a memoir. What’s the title?
Bite Back. Context – I was bitten by a dog badly in 2005. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to speak normally, go out in public, or live any sort of normal life. I now run two companies I love with people I adore, speak regularly on panels and events, married the friend who showed up at the hospital when I was in critical condition who took care of me for a whole year to get me well, and am raising the coolest 8 year old ever to walk the earth who makes me laugh every day. I bit back. Hard.
Go-to Karaoke song.
Lose Yourself. But it’s really long. And I forget that every time. So I want to make it Whatta Man but I always forget.
In 10 years, what do you hope to look back and say you changed?
10 x 365 = 3,650. I hope I have changed 3,650 things. I try to do something that makes an impact big or small every day. I’d like to double that impact if you can figure out a way to get me some more hours in a day…
Ali’s Social Media:
Instagram: @actioncannon
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ali-brown-bb25605/
To see who else is a Reel Woman, click here.
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