Adhrucia Apana is a multifaceted creator and a paragon of innovation and influence in the contemporary film industry. She is an film/tv creator, screenwriter, producer, executive producer, and founder of the production company Curiosity Entertainment. Adhrucia is also the host of Curiosity’s Storyteller Studio on iHeart Radio & Rukus Ave where she hosts story time with the World’s Greatest Storytellers both within the industry and from all types of backgrounds and highlights some of the greatest stories still never told! Adhrucia has championed the convergence of artful storytelling and financial acumen to bring forth narratives that resonate across a global audience. Her notable work includes executive producing films such as “The Survivor,” featuring Ben Foster, and “Needle in a Timestack,” starring an ensemble cast including Orlando Bloom and Cynthia Erivo. Adhrucia’s impact extends beyond production; she is deeply committed to diversity and social impact, demonstrated by her active involvement in initiatives like CAPE and her role on the Producers Guild of America’s Social Impact in Entertainment board.
Adhrucia’s career began on the stage as a kid and young adult where her love of music, musicals, and acting led her to studying film, photography, and theater. After graduating high school and studying film & photo journalism she landed in busines school in the prestigious Carl H Linder Honors PLUS program. This led her down a different path momentarily in advertising and brand but her return to filmmaking was marked by a sharp ascent in the industry, working in various capacities on over 30 film and television shows, accumulating a wealth of experience that she now channels into her leadership roles. Her company, Curiosity Entertainment, not only develops and produces films but also shapes the careers of countless artists and professionals in the industry with a robust mentorship program supporting recent graduates and senior level university students graduating in film school in navigating and learning the film industry.
Adhrucia’s dedication to creating non stereotypical roles behind the camera and in front of the camera for first generation, female, and minority voices in the entertainment sector through curated projects and strategic partnerships is one of her personal missions to helping change the landscape of entertainment. This commitment is further solidified by her efforts with Los Angeles-based nonprofits like Young Storytellers and Project Paper Bag, where she contributes as both an advocate and a volunteer. Through her work, Adhrucia seeks to create platforms for underrepresented voices, ensuring that diversity is not just acknowledged but celebrated in film and television.
Her productions are known for their thought-provoking content and have earned critical acclaim, including Emmy nominations and wide audience appeal. Her latest project is her screenwriting debut a film called “Goodman” that is currently casting. Her company also helped financially support a strike film the father- son story “Armored” starring Sylvester Stallone which finalized its sales this Cannes and will be out this Summer. The films she chooses to develop, write, or produce often tackle complex themes such as identity, time, and resilience, pushing the boundaries of traditional filmmaking to explore new narrative dimensions. Her strategic vision is not only to entertain but to provoke thought and dialogue among viewers worldwide. What’s next? Directing she says!
Can you share the inspiration behind founding Curiosity Entertainment and its vision for the future of film and television?
I grew up with my parents exposing me to many different cultures from an early age. What I learned as a child is that no matter what country or socioeconomic background you come from, every child from the poorest of poor to the richest of rich, from the depths of India or Korea or Australia or Japan… every child shares the same hope and dreams. And a lot of the reason that this democratization of hope and inspiration exists despite the extreme differences in the backgrounds of children born into poverty and born into wealth or born into war torn countries or unique circumstances is the power of story. These children I encountered in our travels when I was a child dreamed about being lawyers, and doctors, designers, princesses, and superhero’s just like me because of the books they read, the stories they heard, the music they listened to, and the movies they watched. The stories gave them the permission to be curious and dream outside of limits. This is why Curiosity Entertainment exists and why I tell stories for a living. I believe that the magic of storytelling is more powerful than politics, programs, or privilege. Our vision is to create stories with characters whose curiosity helps share with the world a new viewpoint, inspiration, or a vision of what might be possible to help the next generation of storytellers continue to dream. We believe that all great stories begin with Curiosity.
What do you look for in a script or a project that makes you decide to commit to it as a producer?
We are a development and production company so most of the stuff we produce are stories we optioned and have built the script as development producers and sometimes writers and are now birthing into the world. We do support some projects with a few of our distribution and development partners that we feel support our mission and for those we look to partner with individuals who share our passion for storytelling as creatives but more importantly understand the business side of entertainment and can work with us to creatively structure films and tv shows that are attractive financially and creatively in the market.
How do you balance commercial success with artistic integrity when selecting or developing new projects?
As an artist I took the time to learn the business. This means I don’t see a gap between commercial success and artistic integrity because I build my art with knowledge of the commercial factors that will lead to it’s success. Knowledge will unlock your ability to create artistic films with commercial success. Knowledge of the market empowers us to have the freedom to choose the stories we want to make. You can make artistic films if you build them with an understanding of who you are building them for. If you don’t take the time to learn the business you’ll always be playing the lottery with your art.
Could you discuss the significance of diversity in your projects and how you ensure diverse voices are represented on and off screen?
I’m a first generation American so I naturally gravitate to stories about identity from all different cultural backgrounds and strong female leads but really my interest is in creating no stereotypical rolls in commercial film that can be cast with females and individuals of color where they gain theatrical exposure. Unless we create opportunities for co-leads or leads to be cast with more females or people of color we don’t give minorities a chance to build theatrical value and with our creating theatrical value or a market for that talent we are not changing the future of the industry. What matters to me first is the story and then I try to find a role within that story where I can support or break a diversity lead so that they can start gaining commercial value in the market. We have stories that take place in Korea, India, America, and Europe all with multicultural cast. They were developed for our slate because they were great commercial stories. All of them have a female or minority lead or co-lead. I’m interested in great stories with unique perspectives from all around the world and then I’m interested in consciously casting them so that actors graduate our films or tv shows with greater commercial value.
What challenges have you faced as a woman in the entertainment industry, and how have you overcome them?
I don’t view being a female as a challenge. I believe as soon as we start telling ourselves that story as females we have already placed ourselves behind. The history of a female’s role in this world and this industry is what it is. I believe I am a hard worker and a great creative and that’s the only energy I bring to my work everyday. That being said, the entertainment industry is no joke for any man or woman who is considering a career in it. My advice is to know who you are and don’t try to change yourself to be more masculine or to please people. If you want to enter a career in the entertainment industry, you have to want it more than anyone else and you have to know yourself well enough to stick to your values, man or woman. If you have a plan b, then you’ve already lost. The only thing that separates those who make it from those who don’t in this town is not talent or connections, it’s sheer passion to succeed.
As a member of the Producers Guild of America’s Social Impact in Entertainment board, what impact do you hope to achieve through your involvement?
I haven’t had much time during the strike to keep up with all the programming our team has created but wow have they soared. The intention behind the Impact Board is to bring greater awareness to social change and environmental change through commercial film. I personally would love to see calls to action in commercial films and I am working on a program to do so.
What role do you think emerging technologies like streaming services and NFTs play in the future of film production and distribution?
Well, streaming is no longer an emerging technology. It has already changed the industry completely and it will take the next few years for the industry to catch up to the changes and create new ways to make back the money it has lost from ad spend during the shift. We believe heavily in supporting brands in navigating the new landscape, and as someone who worked in brand, I feel that some of our programs are uniquely poised to be some of the first to help do our part to solve the problems the rapid onset of technology accidentally created. NFT has become a dirty word in entertainment because of the misuse of the technology by some who truly didn’t understand the capabilities of the technology and how it could be utilized to support current artists vs. compete with existing systems. As blockchain becomes further integrated into our greater financial and commercial ecosystems in society the real utilization that I see for what was formerly referred to as NFTs is a way to create reward programs with fans of our content so that we can better understand and find our consumers when it comes time to launch a new film or tv show. Right now the decentralized direction that streaming has taken our industry means that I might have one show on Amazon and a next on Apple. What is important in this new environment is building community with those who love our brand during each release and being able to listen to that community to learn from them and create new content for them that they help inspire and that they can find to support no matter what platform it ends up on. And in return, we as a company want to support our community back for their love and loyalty. You can’t make stories without the fans and the future of this technology means we can have a closer relationship with those who support us! This is what I am most excited for with this technology.
Could you share an instance from your career that significantly influenced your professional philosophy or approach to filmmaking?
I find the greatest influences in my career come from people who have given me narrow minded advice. Those who see the world with the glass half empty encourage me more to see the world with my glass half full. If someone tells me that something can only be done one way then I will definitely be obsessed with finding a way. I also am inspired by the contrasting perspectives of creatives and business execs in our industry. As someone who is both, I find the gap in communication and understanding so fascinating. I’ll give you an example. A director always wants to fight for Final Cut, if you ask her/him why they will tell you: “because if the ship goes down, I’m going to be held responsible”. If you ask a financier why they want Final Cut they will say: “because if the ship goes down, I’m the one who pays for it”. We all want the ship to sail. We have to think of creative ways to align everyone’s interests so we are all fighting on the same team, not against each other.
What advice would you give to young filmmakers and producers who aspire to follow in your footsteps and make a difference in the industry?
Learn the business. I was a creative, talent, with the dream of creating film and tv and no understanding of the business side. I decided to learn it because I thought it would give me a competitive edge. In the end, what I learned is that you don’t survive as a creative without understanding how to make people money. You might get lucky once or twice but it won’t create longevity for your career. Creatives are blessed, we have the ability to learn anything we put our minds to and apply it. Take the blessing, stretch yourself, and learn all aspects of our industry. You’ll never regret it.
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Picture Credit: Muhammed Hamed
Styled by Venk Modur
Shoes By Franco Sarto
Make Up and Hair by Christina Petry
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