Austin Stories: Hope Dickson Leach

Hope Dickson Leach attended the 2006 Austin Film Festival with her short film The Dawn Chorus. Hope was recently listed in Filmmaker's Magazines 25 Faces Of Independant Film. The Dawn Chorus played in Shorts Program 5







I had a terrible cold when I arrived in Austin. The sunshine was a real tonic, but nothing could stop me sneezing.

The night before the awards ceremony I went to bed early, unable to talk to anyone at the parties through my sniffling nose and my red eyes. My producer, however, went off into the night, and returned in the early hours telling me I HAD to go to the Awards luncheon the next day.

So I dressed in something just smarter than pajamas, and shuffled along. When my name was called for the prize for Student Narrative Short, the sneezing stopped and my head cleared. It was a great moment. I'm not sure how much sense I made at the podium, but at least I didn't cover it in snot.

Later that evening, I bumped into one of the jurors who told me that I must keep on making films. That has kept me going - and I have Austin to thank for it.

Hope Dickson Leach attended the 2006 Austin Film Festival with her short film The Dawn Chorus. Hope was recently listed in Filmmaker's Magazines 25 Faces Of Independant Film. The Dawn Chorus played in Shorts Program 5.

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For a list of Confirmed Panelist for the 2007 Austin Film Festival check out www.austinfilmfestival.com .