Leila Murton Poole is a London-based writer-director whose films blend emotional realism with stylised, heightened worlds. Her work explores pressing “real-world” concerns within “real world–adjacent” landscapes, using grounded surrealism and visual poetry to transform urgent contemporary issues into cinematic spaces that feel both intimate and unsettlingly possible.

Drawing on her journey from London to New Zealand without flying, Leila’s films often examine how human connection endures amidst systemic and environmental collapse. She works primarily within genre and speculative storytelling, using heightened frameworks to interrogate contemporary social and ecological realities.

Leila is a graduate of Sydney Film School, where she won her year’s Best Director award, and recently completed an MFA in Directing Fiction at the National Film and Television School, where she was mentored by Peter Strickland. Her short Le Miroir, which she wrote, directed, produced and edited, screened internationally, including at Flickerfest, before being released online with Omeleto. It is available to watch here.

Her recent shorts span dystopian drama and psychological horror. Earth won Best Student Film at Manchester Film Festival, Violent Delight premiered at FrightFest, and Cloud 99 received a Silver Screen at the Young Director Awards in Cannes and won the New Talent category at the Venice TV Awards. All three are currently longlisted for Best Student Short at the British Short Film Awards. Her first commercial, made for The Mix during Mental Health Awareness Week, has been shortlisted for a Young Arrows Award. She is currently in post-production on Tutto Passa, a short shot on 16mm in Italy.

An avid writer, Leila became the first, and only, person to win three, four and five NYC Midnight writing competitions, with entrant numbers ranging from 1,800 to 5,400. These include winning the Screenwriting Competition twice—in 2021 as the first female winner in 15 years, and again in 2023. She is currently developing longer-form projects and is always on the look out for producers and creatives who would like to collaborate so please get in touch if you’d like to talk.

She is represented in the UK by Rowena Wallace at Common Ground Entertainment.