Leila is a Contributing Editor and columnist at Total Film and a regular at The BBC, Little White Lies, Sight and Sound, The Guardian, Indiewire, and many more. She is the host of Truth & Movies: A Little White Lies Podcast.
In what ways does nature inspire or inform your work?
I’m from Sudan and grew up with a feeling of being deeply connected to the African soil. As I’ve moved through the world, I’ve never lost a sense of being tangibly part of the continent’s deserts and savannahs and grassland. I’m constantly inspired by that deep feeling of not knowing where I end and the nature around me begins.
What does it mean to you to be part of a thriving ecosystem?
It’s something I take very seriously, and I want to give to the world and ecosystem around me in every way I can. Be it to other people, the places I work, or the planet itself, I want every environment I am in to be improved by having me in it.