Lily Freeston

Lily Freeston

PIGOTT | BAFTA SCHOLAR 2021

Lily Freeston is a British documentary filmmaker who works across film, journalism and art to tell stories about contemporary social issues. Her work aims to amplify the voices of young people and communities on the margins. Born and raised in Northern England, she has an interest in making films which challenge perceptions of people and places that are underrepresented in mainstream media.

Lily spent the formative years of her career working as a journalist, producer and reporter for the BBC. She has had her ideas commissioned by Channel 4 and British culture magazine Dazed, and her films screened at BAFTA and The Institute of Contemporary Arts (London).

In 2020, she became the first ever Fulbright BAFTA scholar and moved to Chicago to begin an MFA in Documentary Film. She is currently in production for her thesis film which is about a about a young mother from Northern England and explores themes of mental illness, sexual assault and intergenerational trauma.