Leah Pellinkhof
Intimacy Coordinator
"Working with Leah was so wonderful. Her comforting, direct guidance made intimacy scenes feel far simpler and far less awkward. I can't recommend her enough"
- Zoe Terakes, Actor (Her Own Music)
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Alexandra Morgan & Zoe Terakes in "Her Own Music"
"Leah's experience as a director, acting teacher, cinematographer, editor and fight choreographer gives her a unique ability to see the scene from a technical perspective as well as from a character driven, emotional story telling perspective. As an intimacy coordinator Leah is the perfect combination of intellectual and empathetic in her approach"
- Phoebe Fuller, Actor (Thirty, Season 2)
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Credits
FEATURE FILM
2021| LONESOME - JJ Splice & Breathless Films - Director, Craig Boreham
SHORT FILM
2021| HOPEFUL ROMANTIC- Bus Stop Films - Director Kate Vinen.
2021|VALIANT- Bus Stop Films- Director, Claudia Bailey.
2019| HER OWN MUSIC - Oddity TV- Director, Olivia Aleksoski.
2019| DON’T FORGET TO GO HOME - Sweet Shop TV - Director, Victoria Thompson.
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WEB SERIES
2018| THIRTY - Season 2 - Producer, Tricia Lyn Morrison.
2021| ME & HER(PES) - Chips & Gravy Films- Director Victoria Zerbst
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MUSIC VIDEO
2022| EMANCIPATE- by Anthony Brandon Wong- JJ Splice - Directors, Anthony Brandon Wong & Dean Francis
Audley Anderson & Ruby O'Kelly in "Romeo & Juliet"
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THEATRE
2019| ROMEO & JULIET - She Shakespeare - Director, Shelley Casey.
2019| THE BED PARTY - The Old 505 - Director, Sophia Davidson Gluyas.
2019| DITCH - Dream Plane Productions - Director, Kym Hardwick.
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WORKSHOPS
2021| Sydney Film School | AFTRS | Mardi Gras Film Festival.
2019| International Screen Academy | Sydney Theatre School.
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CONSULTANT
2019| Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance
Leah was an advisor on the development of the
Equity Intimacy Guidelines for Stage and Screen.
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Read the Equity Guidelines Here
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Testimonials
Working with Leah was like magic. She creates a space where the actors are able to have fun and perform boldly while always feeling safe and heard. Her process embraces story but speaks to performers in ways they can use practically and authentically
-Craig Boreham, Director (Lonesome)
"Having Leah on set completely reframed the way I usually approach intimate scenes. They are no longer embarrassing obstacles that I have to hold my breath to 'get through'. Everything was openly discussed, investigated and consented to in a way that didn't slow down the work - It actually made things faster. I felt complete agency and control of my body and the material we created - and that I was working in a space that respected my wellbeing as both an actor, and as a human."
-Damien Killeen, Actor (Lonesome)
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"Intimate scenes are extremely delicate terrain, one thing can go wrong and someone gets traumatised for the rest of their life. We had the formidable Leah Pell who oversaw every intimate scene we did on the set of ‘Lonesome’ (which practically made up the whole movie). Leah created immaculate boundaries for us from day one to fall back on if something felt incorrect and gave us a universal language so that no wires were ever crossed. Her thoroughness and dedication to safety is so tactfully and empathetically implemented that it always felt like a friend was looking after us. She is a genius and can’t talk highly enough of her."
Daniel Gabriel, Actor (Lonesome)
Brigitta Brown & Alex Moulis in "The Bed Party"
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"Leah was sensitive, intuitive, and incredibly professional as our Intimacy Co-ordinator. She helped our cast feel completely comfortable - including some first time actors - and the results were a beautiful and sensual scene that everyone felt safe with."
- Julia Billington, Actor, (The Bed Party)
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"Leah’s approach to our intimate scene was so professional and simple. She eased our nerves by making everything super transparent and clear. By the end it was like a well choreographed dance piece; effortless and natural. She made us feel safe, talked every movement through with the intention behind it. We were able to rehearse it with no surprises and it gave me the skills to know how to approach such scenes in the future too! Every set and production should have an intimacy coordinator on board!"
- Margarita Gershkovich, Actor, (The Bed Party)
"I had not worked with an intimacy coordinator before, so I was quite nervous and unsure of what to expect. Upon meeting Leah I was quickly put at ease – her friendliness and openness made me feel confident that any awkwardness of working through the sex scene would be handled with care and humour. Overall my experience with Leah was really positive – I had fun, felt safe and supported and ultimately ended up creating a pretty hot scene!"
-Alex Moulis, Actor (The Bed Party)
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"I'm so grateful to Leah for ensuring our storytelling was safe for the actors and that all the blocking was consensual. As much as I'd like to think I could have directed scenes with intimacy safely, you just can't erase the fact that an actor will fundamentally want to please their director. Leah is a fantastic intimacy coordinator because she comes to the role with so much knowledge. Leah's understanding of actors, craft, writing, directing, cinematography and combat, means she is uniquely skilled to not only set in place safe procedures and practices but to partner with directors to create truly impactful storytelling."
- Sophia Davidson Gluyas, Director (The Bed Party)
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"I thoroughly recommended using an intimacy coordinator. Having Leah there to talk us through the scene and be physically present during the shoot was such a fantastic breath of fresh air. I never once felt uncomfortable or pressured to do anything I didn’t want to do, which allowed me to focus solely on the performance and my scene partner. Leah was fantastic to work with. Her insight and guidance was warm, clear and direct"
- Monica Kumar, Actor (Don't Forget To Go Home)
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"I was definitely anticipating the awkwardness of it all, (Acting in a simulated sex scene) with someone I had never met before that day! Leah quite masterfully helped establish a conversation between us about how we saw the scene being carried out, how we might fulfil what the camera required of us, whilst bearing in mind our own personal limitations. Agreeing to where we were and were not comfortable being touched in advance, really helped eradicate those nerves before the word “action” was called. Thank you Leah for setting a strong precedent!"
-John Van Putten, Actor (Thirty)
“Leah created a safe environment for us to choreograph our intimate scenes and helped us colour our movements with subtext - work we otherwise wouldn’t have done if we left talking about the scene to the day of shooting. She gave us (the actors) tools to clearly understand what each other was comfortable with, and once we had those parameters we actually were able to feel more free within the scenes. We also used the tools she gave us continuously throughout the shoot to check in with each other and make sure we were comfortable, which was invaluable. Would definitely recommend Leah to anyone looking to work with an intimacy coordinator. “
-Alexandra Morgan, Actor (Her Own Music)
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Phoebe Fuller & Prudence Holloway in Thirty, Season 2