Conversations With Friends: Q&A with the team behind the series

Join WFTV for an insider's look into BBC Three and Element Pictures’ Conversations With Friends.

We are joined by Leanne Welham, Director, Emma Norton, Executive Producer, Element Pictures, Catherine Magee, Series Producer and Jeanie Igoe, Producer. The panel will discuss their roles in making the series and their journey from commission to production with writer and broadcaster Simran Hans.

There will also be time at the end of the discussion for Q&A.

Conversations With Friends is the highly anticipated television adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel of the same name, starring Alison Oliver, Sasha Lane, Joe Alwyn and Jemima Kirke. The series follows Frances (Alison Oliver) and her ex-girlfriend, now best friend, Bobbi (Sasha Lane). Though they broke up three years ago, Frances and Bobbi are virtually inseparable and perform spoken word poetry together in Dublin. It’s at one of their shows that they meet Melissa (Jemima Kirke), an older writer, who is fascinated by the pair. Bobbi and Frances start to spend time with Melissa and her husband, Nick (Joe Alwyn), a handsome but reserved actor. While Melissa and Bobbi flirt with each other openly, Nick and Frances embark on an intense, secret affair that is surprising to them both. Soon the affair begins to test the bond between Frances and Bobbi, forcing Frances to reconsider her sense of self, and the friendship she holds so dear.

Event Schedule:

17:55: Please join the webinar waiting room 

18:00: Panel discussion with team behind the series  

18:45: Attendee Q&A opens 

19:00: Finish

Leanne Welham, Director

Named as one of Screen International's Stars of Tomorrow, BAFTA nominated Leanne Welham started out in the industry as a professional editor. Her self-penned debut feature Pili, a drama about women in Tanzania, premiered at the Dinard Festival of British Cinema where it won the Audience Award for Best Film and the Screenplay Award. After its UK release, the film went on to be nominated for both a BIFA and a BAFTA for Outstanding Debut by a British Director. Leanne is in development with Parkville Pictures, BBC Films and James Schamus' US production company Symbolic Exchange for The Warning, a thriller set during the height of the Blitz. After directing episodes of The Trial of Christine Keeler(BBC) and His Dark Materials (BBC/HBO) Leanne has most recently directed the upcoming Conversations With Friends (BBC/Element/Hulu) alongside Oscar nominated Lenny Abrahamson

Emma Norton, Executive Producer, Element Pictures

Emma Norton is a Producer at Element Pictures working across film and television.

Emma joined Element Pictures in 2008 as Development Executive before becoming a Producer in 2017 when she produced Paddy Breathnach’s feature film Rosie, starring Sarah Greene and written by Roddy Doyle. Rosie premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and received widespread acclaim. She has since exec produced the critically acclaimed Normal People(BBC/Hulu) which is based on Sally Rooney’s celebrated novel, adapted for screen by Rooney and Alice Birch, and directed by Lenny Abrahamson and Hettie MacDonald. Emma’s current television projects include the adaptation of Sally Rooney’s debut novel Conversations With Friends, directed by Lenny Abrahamson; and Nancy Harris’ original series The Dry (Britbox/ITV Studios) directed by Paddy Breathnach.

Her recent film credits include Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir Part II (BBC/A24/Focus) which had its world premiere at Directors’ Fortnight in July 2021; and upcoming release The Eternal Daughter (BBC/A24), also directed by Joanna Hogg. She has previously worked across a range of Element’s projects from What Richard Did, A Date for Mad Mary, and The Lobster, to Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA-winning films Room and The Favourite.

Before joining Element, she worked at Film4 and prior to that was a freelance script reader for a range of UK production companies and theatres, including Kudos, Scott Free, the BFI and the Soho Theatre.

Catherine Magee, Series Producer

Catherine Magee is an award-winning independent producer specialising in television drama, who most recently produced Element Pictures’ television adaptation of Sally Rooney’s debut novel Conversations With Friends for BBC and Hulu, directed by Lenny Abrahamson and Leanne Welham. She previously produced Element Pictures’ critically acclaimed series Normal People for BBC and Hulu, directed by Lenny Abrahamson and Hettie Macdonald. Normal People was nominated for Emmy, BAFTA, Golden Globe and PGA awards.

Recent credits include the landmark TV mini-series Resistance(2019) for Netflix and RTE, starring Brian Gleeson, Simone Kirby and Paul Ritter, Rebellion (2016) for RTE and Sundance TV, starring Sarah Greene, Charlie Murphy and Michelle Fairley,Charlie (2015) for RTE, starring Aiden Gillen; and Dark Lies the Island (2019), a feature film based on the stories of Irish writer Kevin Barry.

Previous credits include the IFTA winning TV drama When Harvey Met Bobfor RTÉ and BBC, starring Domhnall Gleeson, the critically acclaimed TV series Prosperity, written by Mark O’Halloran and directed by Lenny Abrahamson and Garage, also directed by Lenny Abrahamson, which was the winner of the CICAE Prize Director’s Fortnight, at Cannes in 2007.

Jeanie Igoe, Producer

Jeanie Igoe is a Dublin based, Emmy nominated Producer. After working in TV production in Dublin, Jeanie moved to New York, where she joined A24 at its conception in 2012, working on each of the company’s early releases, a few titles include: Spring Breakers, The Bling Ring, Obvious Child, Room, The Lobster, Ex Machina, Amy. In 2016, she helped launch the company's Production arm, working as a Production Executive on titles such as Academy Award winning Moonlight, It Comes at Night, Eighth Grade and Cannes Critic's Prize winning The Lighthouse. During her time at A24, she also produced the Emmy nominated comedy series At Home with Amy Sedaris, the Peabody winning series Random Acts of Flyness, Hulu's Golden Globe winning Ramy and various productions for HBO and Netflix.

After becoming a Co Producer on David Lowery's The Green Knight, Jeanie went freelance in 2019 and produced the Sundance US Dramatic Competition title, from Channing Godfrey People, Miss Juneteenth, which won a Gotham award and has been nominated for 4 Spirit Awards. After wrapping season 3 of At Home with Amy Sedaris, she came on board to produce Element Picture's Conversations With Friends, directed by Lenny Abrahamson and Leanne Welham. She is currently focused on her company, Homebird Productions, and developing a slate of new projects.

Simran Hans - Host

Simran Hans is a freelance writer and broadcaster based in London. Simran has worked across print and digital media for 10 years. She writes about culture—mostly film, but also TV, books, music, art, fashion, food, and the Internet—in the form of profiles, reported features, criticism, essays, and branded editorial. Simran was a film critic for The Observer for five years, from 2017-2022, and is also a member of the London Critics Circle. Her writing has been published in The Guardian, The Observer, The New York Times, New Statesman, Dazed & Confused, Sight & Sound and many other places. Simran has created editorial content for brands including Amazon Prime Video, Kodak, Netflix, Penguin, Virgin Atlantic, WeTransfer and The Wing. She also writes an occasional email newsletter called Treats. The New Statesman called it “ever thoughtful and thought-provoking”. You can subscribe to it here.

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