E07: David Ward - Writing and Directing Lenore

In this episode we are joined by writer and director David Ward, whose feature film Lenore is currently doing its festival rounds. Lenore is a psychological thriller- “When a controversial influencer suddenly disappears, a terminally online sycophant goes hunting for answers, but comes face-to-face with the monstrosity of his own sins.” If you’re listening to this episode before the 15th of May 2026, you can catch Lenore at its Australian premiere, at Fantastic Film Festival, with screenings in Sydney and Melbourne- we touch more on this towards the end of the episode. My favourite parts of this episode was our discussion on private investors, test screenings, and literary genesis of the screenplay- these are topics we haven’t yet spoken about on the podcast before and is so useful for emerging filmmakers.Grew up an actor, went to film school Film school - character shaping vs craft shaping Camaraderie & collaboration - fundamental skills built through film schoolThe reality of being a director nowadays- the need to be multihyphenate Directing and Editing LenoreTrifecter - Good, Fast and Cheap16mm unit at Swinburne - benefits of learning the discipline of shooting on film How Lenore began as a stageplayVFX, screen replacements, in-camera effects Genre - Thriller or Horror? Creative genesis - Edgar Allen Poe Co-writing the screenplay How the HODs got attachedCasting Lenore - the challenges of casting such an intense roleChallenges and restrictions during filmingEthics and morality of directing Financing the film - private investorsPrivate investing for feature films - how to find private investors Budget - and budget for genre Test screening - the benefits of doing Feedback on films - how to take it Finishing the film & festival runs Fantasporto - winning the audience choice awardFantastic film festival - Australia premiere Advice for emerging filmmakers Check out Lenore's screenings at Fantastic Film FestivalFollow the podcast on instagram: ⁠⁠@teatimefilmpodcast⁠⁠ Follow Tea on instagram: ⁠⁠@teavandeburgt⁠⁠ Follow David on instagram: @davidjsward ⁠⁠To leave the podcast feedback ⁠⁠follow this link