Stacha Hicks is a multi‑award‑winning writer and director, and the founder of Monkey Dawn Productions. Her previous film, ELICIT, starred Rita Tushingham, Paul Barber, Emily Fairn and Aaron Gordon. It qualified for both BIFA and BAFTA, screened at Aesthetica, Norwich and Cinequest, and won Best Short Film at the BAFTA‑endorsed Carmarthen Bay International Film Festival, alongside Best Director at the London Director Awards. Dys is Me, beginning its festival run, has already qualified for BIFA consideration.

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Coming from a place where you learn to make things work with what you have, she made her first film at nineteen on a lost‑and‑found camcorder, edited in house (A.K.A in‑camera). She went on to tell stories as an actor, writer, photographer and comedian before returning to filmmaking with a voice that feels distinctly her own. She has learned from extraordinary creatives including Danny Boyle, Paul Greengrass, Emma Thompson and Ricky Gervais, shaping her integrity, instincts and approach to the work. Her films are intentional, ambitious and cinematic, often looking bigger than the budgets behind them.

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