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Lea Hejn

@lea_hejn

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🎥 Documentary Director @maiandmiles.film
🎬 Curupira & Surara
🍿Assistant Director #wilding (apple tv) & @bluecarbonfilm (HBO) 🇫🇷 & 🇩🇰 ❤️ 🇧🇷

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It was an absolute honor and dream come true to be invited to the @afo_olomouc @sandboxfilms Camp4Science 2026 workshop and pitch 🤲❤️ with our project @maiandmiles.film ‘Maï & Miles - the jazziest story about physics ever told’ featuring @mai_curly_hair and @milesjaymusica supported by @screenscots 🙏

Produced by @sonjahenrici @nudge___nudge and co-produced by Esther Nissen @finalcutforreal and Stephanie Lebrun @babel_doc

At AFO we found a community of madly passionate and absolutely likeminded filmmakers and supporters who merge great documentary storytelling and science in one. At a time where telling long form, true stories is challenging.

The screenings where full, the atmosphere was bright with excitement and wonder.

It would amazing to come back with our film once we are done 🙂❤️.

Thank you so much to the beyond wonderful afo team @ivana.for @doma_vona @eldadorado @ondrej @agatahrncirova

And mentor and experts from sandbox @jessharrop and Marcus Wright, and Christine Legoff, Veronika Lisková, @ondrej.vavrecka , for helping us along the way to bring this love story to the world. We will come back asap! taken in Olomouc, Czech Republic by @lea_hejn

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5 months ago

Beyond excited to share this project with you soon 🎉! I will give the distribution details asap! After reading @isabella.tree’s wonderful book, it was a dream come true to work as an Assistant Producer on it’s docu-dramatisation 😊

Based on the best-selling book by the same title, Wilding tells the story of a young couple that bets on nature for the future of their failing, four-hundred-year-old estate. The young couple battles entrenched tradition and dares to place the fate of their farm in the hands of nature. Ripping down the fences, they set the land back to the wild and entrust its recovery to a motley mix of animals both tame and wild. It is the beginning of a grand experiment that will become one of the most significant rewilding experiments in Europe.

Wilding is produced by three-time Oscar-winning production company @passionpicturesfilms; partnered with Oscar-nominated and Emmy and Peabody Award-winning @tangledbankhhmi Tangled Bank Studios, whose most recent film All That Breathes won best documentary at Sundance, Cannes and the London Film Festival. This is the third film produced by these two studios, following the Emmy Award-winning film The Serengeti Rules (2018), and the Emmy-nominated documentary My Garden of a Thousand Bees (2021), which won the Golden Panda Award at Wildscreen.

The film is directed by five-time Emmy Award-winning David Allen, and photographed by multi-BAFTA; Emmy Award-winning cinematographers @timcraggstudio Cragg, Simon de Glanville and Hugh Campbell @hughpic

Wilding’s musical score is composed by Biggi Hilmars and Grammy-nominated Jon Hopkins, cited by The New Yorker as “one of the most celebrated electronic musicians of his generation.” taken in Knepp Wilding by @lea_hejn

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3 years ago

Check out 👁️ the trailer of our latest project 😊 @bluecarbonfilm, a musical and environmental film featuring, DJ and scientist @jaydagmusic uncovering how to better protect coastal ecosystems, the communities and wildlife who call them home 🌍.

It was a pleasure to work with the whole team at Make Waves on this super fresh, original and magnificent documentary. It will air on CNN this year and I will share any opportunities for screenings here as well.

As the assistant producer on this project I had the honour 🙏 to meet communities, activists and scientists from around the world who dedicate their whole lives to the protection of mangroves, sea grasses and salt marshes. These ecosystems are unique havens for local culture 🎶💃 and wildlife 🦩🦀 and our shared future on this planet depends on their health.

A @tangledbankhhmi and @makewaves_media and @conservationorg 🙏 production
Cinematography - @hughpic and aerial @shuttersoundfreddie
Music - score by @rza and original music by @seujorge and @jaydagmusic

…
#bluecarbon #documentaryfilm #documentary #womenindocumentary taken in London, United Kingdom by @lea_hejn

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3 years ago

🇧🇷 Muito felizes que o nosso curto "Surara" será exibido no All Living Things Environmental Film Festival (ALT EFF), na Índia, de 3 a 13 de dezembro 🤗!

Vamos encontrar o festival certo para estreia no Brazil também, no ano que vem 🙏.

🇧🇷 É o maior festival de cinema ambiental descentralizado da Ásia, apresentando produções globais em salas de cinema, espaços comunitários e online, com o objetivo de impulsionar a ação climática 💪💚.

Sinopse – No coração da Amazônia brasileira, os Guardiões do Territorio Indígena Maro, assim como seu símbolo, o jabuti, vêm lutando de forma paciente, poderosa e empática contra madeireiros ilegais em suas terras. O filme retrata a história desses guardiões da floresta e a criação de um poderoso movimento de resistência liderado por indígenas, determinado a manter a floresta em pé.

🤲 Com a participação de @dadaborari @tataborari @lidiane @forestguardians
🎬 Direção e Produção - @lea_hejn
Produtores Executivos - Richie Mehta e Tom Wheeler
🎥 Direção de Fotografia - @cosmoroncon
Segunda Câmera - @fabio_quireli
Cinematografia de Vida Selvagem - @cdimitrius
✂️Edição - @missjudgedshot
Assistente de Produção - @viviborari
Produção Local - @flavia_dimitrius
Produtor Associado - @jessevanthull
🎼 Composição - @dan_pollard_
Música Original - @as_karuana ‘Borari’
Impacto @treesistance by @lea_hejn

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7 days ago

Thank you @fabio_quireli this is my favourite portrait yet 🤲, taken after the Surara shoot, navigating back on the Rio Tapajós, knowing that it all went well and that we would be able do justice to the Borari forest guardians’ story. by @lea_hejn

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7 days ago

🇬🇧 So happy for ‘Surara’ to be screening at the All Living Things Environmental Film Festival (@alt.eff) in India 3-13 of December 🤗!

🇧🇷 Muito felizes que “Surara” será exibido no All Living Things Environmental Film Festival (@alt.eff), na Índia, de 3 a 13 de dezembro 🤗!

It is Asia’s largest decentralized environmental film festival, showcasing global cinema in cinemas, community spaces and online; to catalyze climate action 💪💚.

Synopsis - Inside the heart of Brazilian Amazon forest, Maro Forest Guardians, like their symbol - tortoise, have patiently, powerfully and empathetically been fighting illegal loggers on their land. The film captures the story of the forest guardians and the creation of a powerful, indigenous-led resistance movement determined to keep the forest standing.

🇧🇷 É o maior festival de cinema ambiental descentralizado da Ásia, apresentando produções globais em salas de cinema, espaços comunitários e online, com o objetivo de impulsionar a ação climática 💪💚.

Sinopse – No coração da Amazônia brasileira, os Guardiões do Territorio Indígena Maro, assim como seu símbolo, o jabuti, vêm lutando de forma paciente, poderosa e empática contra madeireiros ilegais em suas terras. O filme retrata a história desses guardiões da floresta e a criação de um poderoso movimento de resistência liderado por indígenas, determinado a manter a floresta em pé.

🤲 Featuring @dadaborari @tata__borarii @lidiane_borari @vigilantestimaro
🎬 Director & Producer - @lea_hejn
Executive Producers - Richie Mehta and Tom Wheeler
🎥 Director of Photography - @cosmoroncon
Second Camera - @fabio_quireli
Wildlife Cinematography - @cdimitrius
✂️Editor - @missjudgedshot
Assistant Producer - @viviborari
Local Producer - @flavia_dimitrius
Associate Producer - @jessevanthull
🎼 Composer - @dan_pollard_
Original Music by - @as_karuana ‘Borari’
Impact @treesistance by @lea_hejn

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8 days ago

Who is Miles 🎶 - @milesjaymusica is a jazz musician from California, classically trained on the double bass and a true physics enthusiast. After living ten years between Cairo and Beirut, he has now returned to the Los Angeles jazz scene where he mixes gypsy jazz with traditional Middle Eastern instruments.

He plays with two main bands @axonorkestra, a gypsy punk band with middle eastern influences and @beatsantique, an electronic world fusion ensemble with a cult following.

Full of humour, passionate about science, philosophical by nature, and deeply rooted in rhythm and experimentation, Miles approaches music like a form of inquiry.

As Miles puts it:
“It’s so exciting to have a partner with whom I can explore. Both our fields deal with waves - light waves and sound waves. In Maï’s case, these waves reveal what’s happening inside the human body, all the way to gravitational waves. In my case, it’s about artistic expression. We go to different workplaces, but ultimately we’re all dealing with waveforms, amplitudes, resonances. That’s what makes our fields, as different as they are, so fascinating to explore together.”. #maiandmilesfilm by @lea_hejn

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14 days ago

Who is Maï 👩‍🔬? Dr. Maïmouna Bocoum is a French-Senegalese physicist. Brilliant, precise, and driven by a deep sense of curiosity, she works at the cutting edge of acousto-optics and quantum mechanics to develop imaging technologies for the early detection of breast tumors.
In 2025 she received the prestigious Irène Joliot Curie prize for ‘Young Woman Scientist of the year’ awarded by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation and the French Academy of Sciences.

In her own words - ‘Whenever I have the opportunity to speak to an audience of young people— girls and boys alike —I have but one very simple message to convey: cultivate your curiosity for science, go as far as that curiosity takes you, and put everything you have learned through it at the service of the common good’.

From her testimonial on the ESTA website 🔗 - https://www.ensta.fr/actualites/maimouna-bocoum-lart-de-chercher-entre-les-disciplines. #maiandmilesfilm by @lea_hejn

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📝 ‘Maï & Miles: The Jazziest Story about Physics ever Told’ is a captivating Nouvelle Vague-inspired documentary following the love story of French physicist Dr Maïmouna Bocoum and American jazz musician @milesjaymusica, set in Paris and Los Angeles. 🎥 The film is work in progress - it will be ready in 2028. You can follow it’s making off and behind the scenes journey here @maiandmiles.film 🤗

Summary - Young and deeply in love, physicist Dr Maïmouna Bocoum and jazz musician Miles Jay choose each other over distance, seeking to build a life together in LA. We follow their journey over three years as they overcome a series of obstacles to relocate Maï’s prestigious academic career and pursue their dream of starting a family.

Set against the backdrop of their unique daily lives in the realms of physics and music, the film weaves their love story with a humorous and humble philosophical exploration of the role of curiosity and creativity in science and art.

Amid visa delays, wildfires, political crises, and shrinking support for science and the arts, their personal story becomes a symbolic act of resistance: a celebration of creativity, open borders and scientific collaboration against an increasingly authoritarian political backdrop.

Directed by @lea_hejn produced by Sonja Henrici and @nudge___nudge with co-producers @finalcutforreal @babel_doc and development support by @screenscots and @doc_campus and Camp4science @afo_olomouc development programs. #maiandmilesfilm by @lea_hejn

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24 days ago

Came back from the Sheffield Doc Fest @sheffdocfest last week, with my heart full, from seeing colleagues old and new, who are all giving their lives to bringing powerful true stories into the world on the big screen. Together we keep going even if it extremely difficult to do this. In pic with colleagues and friends @marthamis and @alicewhughes

Here are is a tiny list of highlights:

The Chord by Nolwen Hervé @nolwennherv and @grandeoursefilms - 5 years in the making, self-shot, magnificent début. The Chord - follows the story of Carolina, a Venezuelan woman, who becomes a maternity warrior battling the country’s failing health system where childbirth risks lives. Wow 💪

We the Hated 🤲 by Rich Felgate @wethehatedfilm - and @passionpicturesfilms The powerful opening film!!!
The subtle way the director weaves his personal story with the film, has us witnessing modern democracy unfolding in front of our eyes. Thank you so much for the environmental activists who keep resisting in the heart of adversity.

The Cycle of Love @thecycleoflove by @orlandovoneinsiedel and @grainmedia - It is coming to cinemas soon 🍿. This docu-fiction is about the journey of PK Mahanandia, a Delhi street artist who in 1977 traveled 6,000 miles by bicycle to reunite with a woman he loved. I was crying tears of joy and beauty all along ❤️

and lastly - huge congratulations to colleague @jiganatra and début work in progress @childrenofhoney.film on winning the Wickers picth! Incredible! Good luck with finishing the film, I cannot wait. by @lea_hejn

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4 months ago

Thank you so so much to Patricia and Massimo and the whole team at the @sheffdocfest meetmarket for believing in ‘Maï & Miles - The Jazziest Story about ever Told’ my feature début.

Produced by @sonjahenrici and @nudge___nudge with co-producers, Esther Nissen @finalcutforreal - Stephanie Lebrun and Stan @babel_doc - here in pic 🤗. With the development support of beyond wonderful Dani @thehouseofdandan and Mark Thomas @screenscots 🤲. Featuring Miles Jay @milesjaymusica and Dr Maïmouma Bocoum.

I think this is going to be a real turning point in our journey in bringing this magnificient love story into the world 🤲🤍.

synopsis - Maï & Miles, is a nouvelle vague inspired musical and scientific documentary recounting the captivating love story between a French physicist and an American jazz musician, set in Paris and Los Angeles❤️

Here a little selection of snaps from the moments and Sheffield in B&W, because ‘what can I say’ 🙃, this is how I see the world right now… And one sneaky colour shot to show the difference. It is fun, it is poppy, but in the following same shot in B&W, we are more focused on the character’s expression and it’s timelessness 💫 taken in Sheffield, United Kingdom by @lea_hejn

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4 months ago

🚀 Apply to the Camp 4Science workshop!

🤝 Camp 4Science is an international workshop for documentary filmmakers developing science feature-length films. It brings together creators, scientists, and film professionals, creating a space for collaboration, mentorship, and new perspectives.

Among this year’s participants was Lea, creator of Maï & Miles – The Jazziest Story about Physics Ever Told — a science-musical documentary inspired by the French New Wave, set between Paris and Los Angeles. 🎶

🧬 Camp 4Science is a place where different disciplines, experiences, and ideas meet. It’s where connections are made, projects evolve, and new ways of telling stories about science emerge. 🧪

🎬 Applications for Camp 4Science 2026/27 are now open!

👉 link in BIO

🎥 @anjamoskvina by @lea_hejn

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4 months ago