Ever since I have known her, Olivia E Dodd has a penchant for getting herself swept up in grand adventures.

Born in San Francisco and a Napa native, Olivia has a passion for her local community and discovering talent. For her education, Olivia pursued the studies of cinematic arts at the University of Southern California. During this time, she continued her joys of adventuring outside of her comfort zone taking a year abroad in Scotland.

Serendipitously, young Olivia was yet to know that she would stand foot on that very same soil over a decade later producing her first international narrative short.
Constantly on the hunt for learning and improving, Olivia has sought out further avenues of evolving from Sundance producing classes to attending festival industry events – where I would meet her at Cannes Film Festival’s Marché Du Film online in 2020.

Olivia has a keen eye for talent and a generous approach to opportunity and uplifting underrepresented groups, leading to a producer who truly sets the stage for elevating artists. Her approach was the first time that I truly felt, as a director, that I could spread my creative wings fully, and that freedom was empowered through Olivia’s belief and support.

Her eye for talent and love of championing artists is what led to her being chosen for and now spearheading the art fund of Napa Valley Presents in California. She is also a founder of the Walter Hunt Everett Foundation, as well as constantly creating videography work for different clients – it is safe to say that Olivia has never shied away from the art of juggling multiple hats! Despite the intensity of the respective challenges, Olivia always makes time to find the emotional heartbeat of every endeavour.

This admirable trait was called into action on a multitude of occasions from development, to production through post and beyond on the short film “Travelling Past” which Olivia produced with me. This film truly was getting swept in a grand adventure that’s for sure!
A collaborative tour-de-force as well as the perfect creative partner for storytelling, Olivia took the, frankly, ridiculous challenge of flying to two foreign countries, shooting on two different film formats and navigating all the logistical problems that came with making a fully professional short film with children’s hours.
Beyond her many skills and talents, Olivia is also a wonderful mother to three incredibly energetic children, a wonderful wife to an incredibly energetic husband and, above all, a caring human being with an empathetic heart.
• Rory 子豪 Power-Gibb, “Travelling Past” Writer & Director