Kate Leys

KATE LEYS is a script and story editor.

She has worked for many years on feature films and TV series all over the world. She works on projects at all stages of development and has also worked on documentaries, animation, short films, audio and theatre. As well as working extensively in the UK she works all over the world; in one day during lockdown she worked with filmmakers in Vienna, Beirut, Tblisi and Maputo. She works often with global indigenous filmmakers.

Films she has worked on recently include THE STATION (Sara Ishaq, co-produced by Yemen, France, Germany, Netherlands, Jordan, UAE) which will play in Cannes critics week; and DEATH HAS NO MASTER (Jorge Thielen Armand, co-produced by Canada, Venezuela, Italy, Luxemburg) which will play in Cannes director’s fortnight. A HAND RISES (Louise Stern, BBC Films, and THE STATION is currently in post. In 2025, six films Kate worked on played in film festivals around the world: WHITETAIL (Toronto); 100 NIGHTS OF HERO (Venice); TORNADO (Glasgow); DREAMERS (Berlin); WORKMATES (NZ Film Festival); THE RETREAT (Toronto).

Also in 2025 she story edited THE BOMB, a 10 part documentary on the Cuban missile crisis, for the BBC World Service; she is currently story consultant on KEY CHANGES, a 48 part history of classical music, for BBC Radio 3.

Other recent films include MR K (Toronto 2024); SKY PEALS (Venice 2023); THE UNBORN BIRO (Sundance 2023); JE’VIDA (Tribeca 2023); feature doc FADIA’S TREE (London 22); HARKA (Cannes 22); MILLIE LIES LOW (Berlin and SXSW 2022); NUDE TUESDAY (Sydney & Tribeca 2022); DO NOT HESITATE (Tribeca 2021); DREAM HORSE (Sundance 2020); BABY DONE (2021); THE LAST TREE (Sundance 2019); HOW TO FAKE A WAR (2019); AMERICAN ANIMALS (Sundance 2018); PIN CUSHION (Venice 2018); BENJAMIN (London 2018); feature doc KINGDOM OF US (London 2017).

Kate also often works with writers and filmmakers to develop story at early stages: these include LADY MACBETH Toronto & Sundance 2017; I AM NOT A WITCH Cannes & London 2017; DARK RIVER, Toronto & London 2017. KINGDOM OF US, LADY MACBETH and I AM NOT A WITCH were all nominated for Best Outstanding Debut Bafta 2018.

She has been head of development at several companies including Film4, where she was based for 6 years and where she was part of a small team commissioning and developing some of the UK's most successful feature films including FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL and TRAINSPOTTING. She developed ORPHANS, EAST IS EAST and GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING, working with countless British writers and directors along the way. As head of development at sales agency Capitol Films she spotted LEAVING LAS VEGAS and THINGS TO DO IN DENVER WHEN YOU'RE DEAD, and worked with talent including Roman Polanski and William Boyd. She has also been a film agent; a TV presenter & producer; director of the Edinburgh TV Festival; Associate Director of Cinema at the ICA; a location caterer, a film festival programmer, a screenwriting lecturer, a film distributor and a cinema usherette.

Kate has run masterclasses and workshops for the Arctic Indigenous Film Fund, Helsinki Film Festival, IFFR, the Netherlands Film Festival, various parts of the BBC and C4, the UK's National Film School, Glasgow Film Festival, the Sami Film Institute, Cyprus Film Days, Watershed in Bristol, ImagineNATIVE in Toronto, the BFI, the Norwegian National Film School in Oslo, Northern Ireland Screen, the London Film School, Bafta, the London Comedy Film Festival, The Danish National Film School in Copenhagen, BFI South Bank, Imagine Film Festival in Amsterdam, Sundance London (now Picturehouse Create), Edinburgh Film Festival, Creative England, Guiding Lights, the Institute of Contemporary Art, The Guardian, iFeatures and Film London Microwave. She’s also spoken about story at Adidas HQ in Germany, at the Wellcome Trust, and at London advertising agencies Blink, Stink and Abbot Mead Vickers BBDO. She gives the biennial keynote address to women producers from all over Europe at PROPRO in Vienna.

She’s been a visiting lecturer at film schools all over the UK. She evaluates screenwriting courses for Skillset, film and TV projects for EU Media, and was external examiner at the London Film School. She helped to set up and chaired the Wellcome Screenwriting Fellowship for 10 years, hosting their legendary annual party and working in partnership with the BFI and Film4. The Fellowship was awarded to writers and filmmakers including Clio Barnard, Jonathan Glazer, Carol Morley, Sally Wainwright, Rungano Nyoni, Michaela Coel and Lucy Prebble.

She has run talent labs and mentoring projects for filmmakers since 2009 and has organised masterclasses by filmmakers including Jane Campion, Mike Leigh, Sir Ronald Harwood, John Madden, Mogens Rukov, Kenneth Lonergan, and editor Pietro Scalia.

She has been on many film and screenwriting awards juries, chaired and taken part in panel discussions, presents the screenwriting award at the Moving Image Awards, co-chairs the BIFA Maverick award committee and sits on the BIFA Nominations Committee, and shortlists short films for Bafta.