Hope Dickson Leach

Hope completed her MFA in filmmaking at Columbia University where she made three short films that played at festivals worldwide. While in New York she was assistant to Todd Solondz on his film PALINDROMES. Hope’s award-winning thesis film, THE DAWN CHORUS, was selected for Sundance, Edinburgh, London and many other festivals. Screen International made her a Star of Tomorrow and Filmmaker Magazine named her one of the ’25 New Faces of Independent Film’.Her debut feature THE LEVELLING, produced as part the iFeatures scheme had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2016 before screening at festivals worldwide. She was awarded the inaugural IWC Filmmaker Bursary Award in Association with the BFI, & was named a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit. She won a Scottish BAFTA for Best Screenwriter for The Levelling. In 2020 she released a new short film, STRONG IS BETTER THAN ANGRY, as part of The Uncertain Kingdom project, and created a film for the National Theatre of Scotland for the Edinburgh International Festival. GHOST LIGHT premiered to five star reviews across the board & led to a second collaboration with the NTS. Developed over the pandemic, Hope created a hybrid film-theatre production of JEKYLL & HYDE - performed & recorded live in Leith Theatre & streamed to cinemas across the UK in February 2022. The final feature film premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in August 2023 before screening on Sky Arts in October. It has just been nominated for two Scottish BAFTA awards, Best Director and Best Actor.