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Bio

Jessica Riches is an activist-turned-campaigner-turned-filmmaker who uses storytelling to drive systemic change.  Jess' short genre films on the subjects of AI and the climate emergency have screened at festivals around the world, including Oscar, BAFTA and BIFA-qualifying. She has three feature films in development which share this thematic through line. She was selected for the BFI Creative Producing programme, Cinestory and ZFF Academy. Jess has worked with major organisations on narrative-led interventions that engage different demographics in the need for climate action. Most recently, she led TheFutureThanksYou.com for the UN Department of Global Communications - producing a series of seven short documentaries in all seven continents as part of a global narrative shift campaign reaching 60,000+ participants that generated a 39% immediate increase in climate hope. Jess also researches impactful climate narratives. She was a fellow on the UCL Climate Action Unit's inaugural 'creative storytelling to impact policy' programme, part of the university of London. She is also a Churchill Fellow, receiving support to create a report on the landscape of development and commissioning for climate stories. She has participated in labs including Climate Spring's Hot House, in association with BBC Writers and Film London, and the WGA and PGA 'Rise Up' workshop on climate storytelling. Jess is driven by the belief that there are important stories that need to be told to change our world, but they may not be hers to tell. She supports and amplifies the voices of people with lived experience to help audiences connect truthfully with global challenges, fighting against pervasive narratives funded by corrupt corporate interests. With this in mind, she founded Messy Collective, a 3,000+ member community of female, trans, and non-binary writers, serves as a Film London mentor for emerging talent, and is a jury member for Watersprite, the world's largest student film festival.