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’.

Since her return to the UK, she has made further acclaimed short works for Channel 4, Film London, the UK Film Council, NOWNESS and the National Theatre of Scotland. Her debut feature THE LEVELLING, produced as part the iFeatures scheme (funded by BBC Films, the BFI and Creative England) had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2016 before screening at festivals all over the world. At the London Film Festival she was awarded the inaugural IWC Filmmaker Bursary Award in Association with the BFI, and in October 2017 she was named a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit. She won a Scottish BAFTA for Best Screenwriter for The Levelling in November 2017.

Her hybrid production, made with the National Theatre of Scotland, THE STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in August 2023 before screening on Sky Arts in October. She is in pre-production on a new feature film, and is developing several more both as writer and director.

Hope is a co-founder of Raising Films - a campaign to make the film industry more sustainable for parents and carers. She lives in Edinburgh with her husband and two sons.