Linda Collins is one of those stalwart talents you can count on to help anchor any film production, major or minor, not only as a performing talent but with equal skill behind the camera as well. No one can ever accuse her of resting on her accomplishments. 2022 has her busier than ever before with appearances in multiple film productions, but she’s also addressing musical commitments as well. She’s Director of Music and Worship Arts and directs two musicals a year for the NBRC Youth Drama Club. The club’s well-received musical comedy The Agape League is a recent highlight for Collins and she’s conducted the Hallelujah Chorus, as well, with the NBRC Chancel Choir with a broad assortment of instruments accompanying the traditional choir.
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Her film achievements are significant and growing exponentially. Collins has a penchant for finding cutting edge material from long neglected voices such as her role as Katherine Bangel in the indie original BIPOC LGBTQ+ Clique. Filming for this project from Ish Productions begins in July and, after she wraps her work there, Collins will appear as Marigold in writer/director Debbie Markowitz’s short indie drama The Prof when shooting kicks off in the final half of the year. She serves as Executive Producer, as well, for the production.
The wide range of her talents takes her in any direction she likes. Goat, a character study with her playing a downtrodden character fending off someone’s attempt to upend their life, is a work from writer/director Mariam Bakashvilli filmed in the New York City metro area. She translates from dark comedy into historical material without a hiccup as Helga in writer/director Andre Irias’ Walkure, a historical short taking place in Nazi Germany during the Second World War.
The highlight of her year, however, is undoubtedly Three for the Road. The critically lauded film has scored as a festival favorite in 2022, snagging Official Selection nods at the Amsterdam Short Film Festival and LA Independent Women Film Awards, and taking the award for Best TV Series-Web-Pilot at this year’s New York Independent Cinema Awards. She’s Executive Producer of this project, as well, adding a rather vivid feather in her cap.
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There will be more achievements to come. She will never view herself or her vocation as a finished thing and artists such as that are always searching for new challenges. They will come and Collins will meet each one of them head on with an eagerness to grow. She’s an intelligent, personable, and beautiful woman capable of inhabiting a variety of roles and has an ample amount to offer behind the scenes, even if informally. She’s an invaluable member of any team she is part of.
There’s no reason to believe that her 2023 won’t be as rewarding, if not more so. In this era of war, economic downturn, and social unrest, the artist stands taller than ever before, and people need the comfort and empathy they provide. They remind us of what it means to be human with incurring the price of humanity. That’s a rare gift and we should be thankful for her willingness to spread it far and wide.
Heather Savage
