Leslie Iwerks is an Academy Award® and Emmy®-nominated director and producer. She has been a leader in creating award-winning films that celebrate the genius, risks, and rewards of creative and innovative visionaries. Her political, environmental, and social issue driven films have garnered critical acclaim while generating meaningful philanthropic change. She is an environmentalist and human rights advocate who has raised millions of dollars through the screening of her projects. Leslie has adventured to all seven continents documenting untold stories - from the depths of the Guatemala City garbage dumps to the toxic tar sands of Alberta, Canada, to the outer reaches of Antarctica. Her list of interview subjects include Steve Jobs, Bob Iger, Dan Rather, Oprah Winfrey, Ralph Lauren, George Clooney, Morgan Freeman, George Lucas, Ella Brennan, Michael Eisner, Jane Goodall, Steven Spielberg among hundreds of others luminaries and thought leaders.
For two decades, Leslie has produced, directed, and edited award-winning feature and short documentaries, television specials, and digital content. Her body of work encompasses enterprise documentary films and series (100 Years of Warner Bros., Superpowered: The DC Story, The Imagineering Story, Ella Brennan: Commanding the Table, The Pixar Story, Citizen Hearst, Industrial Light & Magic: Creating the Impossible, The Hand Behind the Mouse-The Ub Iwerks Story) as well as acclaimed political, environmental, and social issue short documentaries (Selling Lies, Recycled Life, Pipe Dreams, Downstream). Leslie’s work can be seen on Netflix, Disney+, Amazon, Max, National Geographic, among others. Leslie's books include the recent 700+ page biography of Walt Disney Imagineering entitled The Imagineering Story, the biography of her grandfather entitled The Hand Behind the Mouse-The Ub Iwerks Story and contributions to the biography entitled To Infinity and Beyond: The Story of Pixar Animation Studios.
Leslie is an active member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Documentary Branch, the Directors Guild of America, the Producers Guild of America, the Television Academy, the International Documentary Association, and has served on the board of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences Scientific and Technology Council, the USC School of Cinema-Television Alumni Council, and is an advisory board member for the Walt Disney Family Museum. In 2020, Leslie was honored with the esteemed Mary Pickford Award from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, the highest honor given to a USC SCA graduate. Leslie is the granddaughter of the Academy-Award winning Disney animator and co-creator of Mickey Mouse and Disney Legend, Ub Iwerks; and daughter of Academy-Award Lifetime Achievement winner and Disney Legend, Don Iwerks. Leslie serves as the CEO & Creative Director for Iwerks & Co., an award winning multimedia production company that is home to a diverse body of creatives known for bringing complex stories to life with exceptional storytelling skill.
