Dr Alexandra Leaney

Alexandra is a screenwriter, producer and academic whose professional and research interests centre on screenwriting, film and television, genre, and narrative theory. Her industry practice informs her teaching and research, with current work spanning screenwriting, development and film production.

As a producer, Alex is currently working on the short film Sensory Room, with writer-director Carla McKinnon, and developing a feminist folk-horror feature with screenwriter Emma Carrion-Moschen. Her feature film screenplay, In Absentia, has Jane Gull attached as director and is in the financing stage. Her previous industry work includes producing and script editing on the short film Crabs and serving as development producer on Novena, a television pilot commissioned by the BBC that is now being developed as a feature film. She was also a co-writer on the 60-episode TV series New World developed for Flying Tiger Entertainment.

Alex is a member of the East Anglian Film Hub and runs the BFI Film Academy Short Courses for Essex and Suffolk. The programme provides aspiring filmmakers with opportunities to work with established, award-winning industry professionals, including Christopher Andrews, Jane Gull, Daniel Fitzsimmons, Taz Fairbanks, and Mat Kirkby.

Alex graduated from Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, with a BA in Economics and Studio Art. During this time, she became interested in cultural studies through the college's diverse programme offerings and its emphasis on internationalism, multiculturalism, and service to society. She then completed an MA in Film and Television Studies and an MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia (UEA). Her first MA dissertation examined the representation of African Americans in commercially successful Hollywood films, while her creative writing studies encompassed film, television, radio and theatre, with a particular focus on genre screenwriting.

Alex subsequently completed her PhD in Creative and Critical Writing at UEA. The thesis takes a research-led approach, drawing on narratology to develop a communication model for the screenplay. This research examines how focalization can be a key tool for both scholar and screenwriter. As illustrated in two major case studies in the critical component, the model permits a detailed analysis of screenplays, enabling more nuanced interpretations and a better understanding of how they function. Her doctoral research also focuses on the representation of child protagonists in screenplays and films aimed primarily at adult audiences, particularly narratives featuring a ‘child witness of trauma’ such as Pan’s Labyrinth (2006). This 'niche genre' of films is explored further through the creative component of the thesis.