Kim Hopkins Pro

Kim Hopkins is a Yorkshire-based filmmaker with dual heritage—born in England to an American father and an English mother. She has spent most of her life in the UK and is a graduate of the National Film and Television School (NFTS), recently voted the best film school in the world.

For nearly 15 years, Kim has been making award-winning television and feature documentaries. She is now a company director of Labor of Love Films Ltd, a UK-based production company specialising in creative, character-driven documentary features.

Kim's career began straight out of film school with Man in the Sand (1999), a music documentary feature about singer-songwriter Billy Bragg’s search for the untold story of folk legend Woody Guthrie. Commissioned by the BBC, the film follows the making of the Grammy-nominated albums Mermaid Avenue I, II & III.

In 2002, she wrote, directed, and shot Wanted, a feature documentary exploring the story behind a suspected Native American serial killer. Funded by the UK Film Council, A&E/WDR, and the Soros Foundation, the film premiered at Locarno, London, and Viennale film festivals and was widely praised for its intelligence, style, and unconventional approach.

Over the next decade, Kim worked extensively as a producer, director, and cinematographer across major international broadcasters, including the BBC, Channel 4, Discovery, and NRK1. Her television work spans a wide range of subjects and locations, including:

• The Garage (BBC), a popular formatted series set in Marbella, Spain, which was nominated for a Broadcast Award for Best Multi-Channel Series (2006)
• Morocco: Never Again (BBC), featuring female dissidents during King Hassan II’s rule, winner of the World TV Award (2009)
• Modern Slavery (NRK1), winner of Norway’s prestigious Amanda Award (2009)
• The Great Health Swindle (BBC & Al Jazeera)
• On the Frontline (BBC), a multi-series programme focused on frontline social issues

Her work has taken her to over 15 countries, including India, Mauritania, Ghana, Zambia, Morocco, Moldova, Uganda, Mozambique, Tanzania, Bolivia, and Cambodia.

In parallel with her filmmaking, Kim has contributed to documentary education. She helped establish the documentary department at the Escuela Internacional de Cine y Televisión (EICTV) in San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba, and has taught documentary production internationally.

In 2008, Kim returned to feature documentary with Hotel Folly – Folie à Deux, a five-year labour of love examining the human cost of the banking crisis. The film premiered at IDFA to a full house at Amsterdam’s iconic Tuschinski 1 theatre and was later broadcast on BBC Storyville. Commissioning Editor Nick Fraser described it as “not just a great film, but an important film.” Folie à Deux was critically acclaimed and included in Huffington Post UK's Top 10 Films of 2013.

Her 2018 feature Voices of the Sea, supported by ITVS, was broadcast on POV, ARTE, and WHY, premiered at True/False, and won multiple international awards.

In 2022, Kim wrote, produced, and directed A Bunch of Amateurs, supported by the BFI Doc Society, Catapult Film Fund, Good Gravy Films, and Screen Yorkshire. It won Audience Awards at Sheffield DocFest, Leeds Film Festival, and Folkestone Film Festival, and Best Feature Documentary at Santa Barbara International Film Festival. The film was shortlisted for a BAFTA and received two Grierson Award nominations. It was theatrically released in over 250 cinemas across the UK.

Her latest film, Still Pushing Pineapples, is the Opening Night Film at Sheffield DocFest 2025 and competes in the International Competition.