Hope Dickson Leach | Writer/Director

Hope Dickson Leach | Writer/Director

Hope’s first inkling that she could make her own movies came when she was on work experience with a filmmaker in LA and learned that, ultimately, directors are just people. She remembers realising that nobody has a magic formula, but that directors were often simply those brave enough to put their ideas out there. It was a realisation that led Hope to study filmmaking at the world-renowned Columbia University, where her graduation short The Dawn Chorus played at prestigious festivals worldwide.

Despite the success of Hope’s short films, getting to make her first feature would not be easy. In an attempt to think about the industry a little differently, Hope founded Raising Films, a campaign to understand the challenges faced by parents working in the film industry. It became a positive force in Hope’s life while she continued to write and develop projects. She remembers being able to afford only three hours’ of childcare a week, and describes those short periods of time as some of the most productive in her life.

Hope’s debut feature, The Levelling, was premiered at Toronto International Film Festival and received the inaugural IWC Filmmaker Award. As she develops her next feature, Hope is driven by the power of stories, guiding us through difficult times.