Meet Gabrielle LeBlanc

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gabrielle LeBlanc and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gabrielle, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
I think risk taking is a crucial part to working in a creative field. I don’t consider myself to be a creative per se, I think I’m someone who really enjoys working with creatives and helping them successfully pursue their creative endeavors. I have friends who want to be directors, musicians, cinematographers and photographers. They have to take risks in order to create their art, they have to put up money, time & effort on top of maintaining their day jobs and responsibilities. I love watching people’s ideas become a reality so I support them with my time & effort and it’s been worth it every time!

In my career taking risks has lead to me working on projects that I’m really excited about and can’t wait to share!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ve always been someone who is good at supporting creatives. I’m the organized & pragmatic friend or co-worker who is good at taking a scattered todo list, re-ordering it and working toward crossing off all of the items. It’s lead me to working as a producer and production manager in film and television. The main piece of advice I received after moving to Los Angeles was to work as much as possible, no matter the title or rate and I feel like my consistency & the connections I made really paid off. I wouldn’t say it was easy but it has consistently been work that I’ve enjoyed and I’ve learned so much from every experience. Every time I step onto a set I feel more confident in my abilities and my knowledge and that’s all I’ve ever wanted in my career.

The work I’m most excited for right now is a feature I produced called Something Casual, premiering at the Dances with Films festival in Los Angeles on June 24th (hoping for more screenings to follow). It was a labor of love all around and I had the opportunity to work with so many of my friends in bringing it to life.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend were visiting Los Angeles we would probably spend a lot of time outside. We’d spend as much time at the beach as possible, we’d probably go on lots of hikes (I love the hike to Griffith Observatory via Ferndell Trail) and we would definitely do a day trip to Ojai to walk around the town & to visit all of the thrift stores. My favorite restaurants that we would need to visit in Los Angeles are Pine & Crane, Urth Caffe and we’d have to get brunch at Lady Byrd Cafe. I’d also make them go to Vromann’s in Pasadena and Stay Home Friend in Burbank which are my favorite gift shops. Finally I’d ask all of my Los Angeles friends to meet up for drinks at All Season Brewing Co since it’s relatively central & I love not being confined in a tiny bar (plus they have skee-ball),

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I wouldn’t be where I am in my career if it weren’t for my parents supporting me and encouraging me to pursue my dreams even though it meant moving across the country to Los Angeles. My supervisors over the years have also always believed in me and supported me while I’ve worked with them and even when I was transitioning to new roles. Also my friends trusting me to help them with their projects, including Brandon Buczek who brought me onto my first feature film as a producer. “Something Casual”.

Instagram: @gabimleblanc

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabileblanc/

Other: https://www.instagram.com/somethingcasualfilm/