Director's Works
Earth Leila Murton Poole
Leila is a London-based writer/director completing her MFA in Directing Fiction at the National Film & Television School. Her work explores contemporary issues through dystopian worlds one step removed from our own, blending visual poetry and natural elements to create worlds that are both intimate and unsettlingly possible.
The visual inspiration for Earth came from a surreal moment in my life: waking up in Sydney in early 2020 to a sky that had turned a deep dystopian orange, thick with bushfire smoke. Masks were encouraged to protect against the toxic haze and it was an eerie foreshadowing of the global crisis to come—little did we know that wearing masks would soon become a global norm for an entirely different reason. That period of time stayed with me, and as I researched further, I realized that these apocalyptic landscapes are not far off for the rest of the world too. In the UK, Saharan dust storms and rising pollution levels have created similarly unsettling skies. This creeping sense of environmental collapse became the foundation for Earth.
But beyond the world itself, Earth is ultimately a film about relationships and how extreme circumstances can expose fractures in even the strongest bonds. In the wake of lockdowns, we have all experienced isolation in one way or another. What fascinated me most was how these conditions can push people apart, shifting their perspectives in ways neither could have predicted. In Earth, we follow a couple caught in this divide—one clings to hope, the other sees no future. Neither is entirely right or wrong, yet their opposing worldviews become an irreconcilable force between them.
Visually, I wanted to lean into striking, carefully composed images that immerse the audience fully in this world. The intense color palette and the set design all serve to heighten the emotional weight of the story. Being able to custom build a set from the ground up was an incredible experience, allowing every element to reinforce the film’s tone and atmosphere.
Working with Jemma Carlton and Oliver Coopersmith was a joy. Their performances brought so much depth to the power dynamic at the heart of the film. And as the emotional chasm between their characters grows, the film shifts into a more surreal, symbolic space—one where the boundaries between life and death blur. Holding onto hope isn’t wrong. But, in a world like this, is it dangerous?
