Grazka Taylor

Grazka Taylor is an award-winning producer, philanthropist and humanitarian. Demonstrating her passion for compelling, life-changing stories, Taylor developed and was Executive Producer with Richard Zanuck and Lili Zanuck on an HBO anthology inspired by Krzysztof Kieslowski's masterpiece, "The Decalogue". Currently Taylor is Executive Producing "Mediterranea" with Chris Columbus (Harry Potter), John Lescher (Birdman), and Jason Berman (Little Accidents). Jonas Carpignano is directing. "Mediterranea" is premiering at the Cannes Film Festival. It is on the list of "100 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2015." One of Taylor's finest accomplishments is development of "The Burning Season" at Warner Brothers with Peter Guber. This film is based on the compelling life story of Chico Mendes, a Brazilian environmentalist killed, while fighting for the preservation of the rain forest. "The Burning Season" was subsequently produced at HBO, with John Frankenheimer directing and starring Raul Julia and Sonia Braga. "The Burning Season" was nominated for thirty awards and garnered three Golden Globe Awards, two Emmy Awards, two Ace Awards, in addition to Humanitas, Screen Actors Guild and Imagen awards. Taylor started her career working alongside Ed Pressman at Warner Brothers. She then produced "Rage" and "Voice in Exile". During her tenure at Viacom Productions, she originated, developed and associate produced "The Operation," the highest rated CBS movie of 1990. Taylor also produced "Tricks" starring Tyne Daly and Mimi Rogers. It was the highest rated Showtime film of 1996. "Touched," starring Jenna Elfman and Bruce Davison opened to enthusiastic reviews in both Boston and Los Angeles Film Festivals. Taylor has also developed numerous film projects for studios and networks, including: "The Loving Gentleman" for Fox Searchlight, "Texas Rangers" for TNT and mini-series "Bad Choices" for NBC/Propaganda Films. Taylor's passion for illuminating stories, lead her to produce several distinguished documentaries, including "Mahalia, "Prophecies" and "Forgiveness". Taylor is an art patron of The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) and the Hammer Museum. At LACMA she serves on Michael Govan Director's Circle and on an Acquisitions Committee - Contemporary Friends. She is MOCA's Leadership Circle and Acquisitions & Collections Committee member. Taylor recently published a book "The Idea of The West," with Internationally renown artist, Doug Aitken. Taylor generously supports The Sundance Institute's Feature Film Program. She is a Sundance Institute Patron, recognized at the Leadership and Advisors Circle level. Taylor was invited to Sundance Institute Directors' and Screenwriters Labs and to the Catalyst Forum. Taylor holds a Master of Arts in Contemporary Literature and Theatre from Warsaw and Helsinki Universities. At Cambridge University, England, Taylor was researching her PHD on contemporary theatre and translating Finnish short stories and poetry into English.