The first ever £50,000 IWC Filmmaker Bursary Award, in association with the BFI, was awarded to Hope Dickson-Leach, writer and director of The Levelling (2016, DP Nanu Segal) from a shortlist of four nominees. The award was presented by Cate Blanchett during a star-studded gala dinner at London’s Rosewood hotel, hosted by Rob Brydon and accompanied by the sounds of the London Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.
“I am so pleased to be here to celebrate four remarkable and unique filmmakers being supported at the beginning of their careers by the BFI and IWC,” said Blanchett, who is also a BFI Fellow.
Amanda Nevill, CEO of the BFI and bursary final judge said, “Hope is a hugely promising director and The Levelling demonstrates her assured transition into feature filmmaking with a story about women in British society, exploring complex family relationships at a point of crisis. Developing and making a film is an expensive and time consuming business, and this bursary is truly a gift of time.”
Dickson-Leach, said: “Winning this means everything. My life has just changed in two minutes. Being a mother of two children and a filmmaker is really tricky and I’ve now been given the gift of time. This generous bursary means that I can now develop my second feature.”
Edinburgh based Dickson-Leach completed her MFA in filmmaking at Columbia University, where she made three short films that played at festivals worldwide. Whilst in New York she was assistant to Todd Solondz on his film, Palindromes. Dickson-Leach’s award-winning thesis short film, The Dawn Chorus, was selected for Sundance, Edinburgh, London and many other festivals.
Since her return to the UK, she has made further acclaimed short works for C4, Film London, the UK Film Council and the National Theatre of Scotland. Her debut feature The Levelling, produced by Wellington Films, funded by BBC Films, the BFI and Creative England, as part of the iFeatures scheme, premiered at Toronto International Film Festival ahead of its LFF presentation.
The other three finalists in contention for the award were: Joseph a. Adesunloye, the writer and director of White Colour Black (2016, DP Rory Skeoch), Alice Lowe, writer/director of Prevenge (2016, Ryan Eddleston) and Paul Anton Smith, director of Have You Seen My Movie?.
