This week’s guest is Leo Anna Thomas, (they/them) who has twenty years’ experience in the Art Department and six as Standby Art Director on projects such as SMALL AXE, TRIGONOMETRY, HIS DARK MATERIALS and BLACK MIRROR.
They are also the first wellbeing facilitator for the Film and TV industry. Having experienced bullying firsthand they stepped away from the industry in 2009 to look after their mental health. They returned in 2013 and as part of that return they began to develop the role of the wellbeing facilitator alongside 6ft from the Spotlight, where they became a full-time facilitator as of 2020.
We speak about their induction into the world of film through the medium of VHS, a full circle 28 Days Later moment, the role of the standby art director and why it’s not just standing by to become an art director, and their work on the film Pride, and then we segue into the work Leo has being doing more recently in the world of wellbeing and mental health, and how they’ve pioneered a new role in the industry that seeks to prioritise care, calm and compassion to ensure that film & TV productions can be more mentally healthy places to work.
If anything you hear in this conversation chimes with you I urge you to check out the show notes, which contain lots of links to further resources and websites about wellbeing facilitation.
TW: Please note, that today’s conversation includes mention of suicide and bullying, so listener discretion is advised.
SHOW NOTES:
#80: Kaila Hier, Publicist
#79: Parisa Taghizadeh, Stills Photographer
#78: Lauren McCallum, Head of European Production at Scanline VFX
#77: Grace Bridger & Runyararo Mapfumo, Producer & Writer/Director
#76: Eva Riley, Filmmaker
Episode 75: Emily Morgan, Producer
Episode 74: Louisa Maycock, Founder & CEO of Girls on Tops
Episode 73: Anna Bogutskaya, Programmer, Broadcaster, Writer & Creative Producer
Episode 72: Gemma Cole, Agency Director & Artist
Episode 71: Georgina Higgins, Script Supervisor
Episode 70: Joanne Michael, Director of Marketing at Cornerstone
Episode 69: Jayisha Patel, VR Filmmaker
Episode 68: Gabrielle Stewart, Managing Director of HanWay Films
Episode 67: Malinda Kaur, 2nd Assistant Director
Episode 66: Dionne Farrell, Development Executive
Episode 65: Sophie O'Neill, Costume Designer
Episode 64: Anu Henriques, Associate Director of Rocks and Founder of Skin Deep
Episode 063: Brett Story, Non-Fiction Filmmaker
Episode 062: Georgia Oakley, Filmmaker (Live at Watersprite Film Festival)
Episode 061: Louise Ford, Editor
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