MGC 1986 Leaver

Lucy grew up in England and attended Oxford University, where she graduated with first class honours in Literature, and directed theatre and musical theatre before winning a Fulbright Scholarship to attend the Graduate Film Program at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. There she earned an Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree and directed award-winning short fiction films. While living in New York, she also enjoyed a successful career as a DJ and musician. 

Lucy's films include feature documentaries The Crash Reel (2013), Waste Land (2010), Countdown to Zero (2010), Blindsight (2006), Devil’s Playground (2002) and short films, notably The Tsunami and The Cherry Blossom (2011) and The Lion’s Mouth Opens (2014), as well as television, including twenty episodes of Nickelodeon Blue’s Clues. Her films have been shortlisted for five Oscars (nominated for two), nominated for seven Emmys (winning one), an Independent Spirit Award, a DGA Award, a Gotham Award, and have won over one hundred other film awards. For her advertising work she has been recognised with awards including three Cannes Lions, two Clios, two One Clios and two Association of Independent Commercial Producers Awards. 

Lucy is also an acclaimed virtual reality director. Her first VR experience, A History of Cuban Dance (2016), premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and showed at SXSW and the Toronto International Film Festival. She has directed branded VR experiences for AirBnB, Toms Shoes, Vaseline, Vice, and the Buena Vista Social Club. 

Lucy now lives in Venice, California and for fun in 2017, took over organising and curating TEDxVeniceBeach and hosted a wildly successful inaugural event featuring talks by Diane von Furstenberg, Moby, and Agnes Varda, among others. 

What does success look like?

Take time to reflect, and write down, how you see success in your own life. The most meaningful success is going to be how you define it for yourself.

What is your best piece of advice?

Don’t be afraid of failure, it’s the best way to learn. Tune into what truly interests and inspires you, then pursue it. Find people who encourage and support you, and try to offer the same to those that you believe in.