Leilah Weinraub is a film director working across film, fashion, live performance, and advertising.
She began her career in advertising under the mentorship of director Tony Kaye, working with him for nearly a decade while he was making some of the most influential commercials in the world. The experience shaped her approach to scale and spectacle.
After moving to New York, Leilah co-founded Hood By Air, where runway shows, films, and campaigns helped redefine New York fashion and menswear, treating the runway as a way to premier now concepts of how to live.
Her feature documentary SHAKEDOWN premiered at the Whitney Biennial and internationally, at the Berlinale. Its release unfolded through an unprecedented distribution strategy that included Pornhub/Art, a platform Weinraub created for the project, before the film later became available on The Criterion Channel. SHAKEDOWN is widely regarded as a singular work in American documentary cinema.
Today Leilah directs films, fashion projects, and commercial campaigns. Performance is central to her work, and she is known for drawing magnetic performances from actors, musicians, and models alike. Her visual language blends high-production value machinery with lo-fi realness, creating images that feel both glamorous and raw.
She is the founder of Texarkana, a studio developing narrative film and stage works, and lives and works between Los Angeles and New York. Leilah also works as a creative director and project consultant for artists, musicians, and brands.
She began her career in advertising under the mentorship of director Tony Kaye, working with him for nearly a decade while he was making some of the most influential commercials in the world. The experience shaped her approach to scale and spectacle.
After moving to New York, Leilah co-founded Hood By Air, where runway shows, films, and campaigns helped redefine New York fashion and menswear, treating the runway as a way to premier now concepts of how to live.
Her feature documentary SHAKEDOWN premiered at the Whitney Biennial and internationally, at the Berlinale. Its release unfolded through an unprecedented distribution strategy that included Pornhub/Art, a platform Weinraub created for the project, before the film later became available on The Criterion Channel. SHAKEDOWN is widely regarded as a singular work in American documentary cinema.
Today Leilah directs films, fashion projects, and commercial campaigns. Performance is central to her work, and she is known for drawing magnetic performances from actors, musicians, and models alike. Her visual language blends high-production value machinery with lo-fi realness, creating images that feel both glamorous and raw.
She is the founder of Texarkana, a studio developing narrative film and stage works, and lives and works between Los Angeles and New York. Leilah also works as a creative director and project consultant for artists, musicians, and brands.
Representation
UTA
Houston Costa
Prettybird
Ali Brown
Management
Cameron Washington
UTA
Houston Costa
Prettybird
Ali Brown
Management
Cameron Washington