Natalie Simpkins

Natalie Simpkins is an award-winning British writer and director who is passionate about telling stories that support and share underrepresented voices. She is a Blackmagic Collective Future Directors of Studio Features fellow with Catherine Hardwicke (director of Thirteen and Twilight) as the program's mentor. Following completion of her BA/MA in Literature at the University of Cambridge, Natalie moved to LA intent on sharing her joy in storytelling. She has directed five award-winning short films including Father's Day Breakfast, about a young boy growing up with deaf parents in the 1960s, which screened at numerous International Oscar qualifying festivals and won awards for her cast including Academy Award winner, Troy Kotsur. Natalie is a fellow of the Blackmagic Collective's Film Your First Feature initiative and an Alliance of Women Director's fellow for their Directing the Actor initiative. She is based in Los Angeles and works for international commercial brands, on music videos, in TV and film.