Madeleine Farley is a British filmmaker, photographer and visual artist based in Los Angeles.
Her work explores the lives of extraordinary people living on the margins—outsiders, survivors and unlikely heroes—with humanity, humour and compassion. Whether documenting homeless communities on the streets of Los Angeles, endangered gorillas deep in the rainforests of West Africa, or individuals whose stories have too often gone unheard, she is drawn to characters who reveal something universal about resilience, identity and the human spirit.
Originally trained as a photographer by Ellie Kaufman, a protégé of Ansel Adams, Madeleine began her career as a regular contributor to Flaunt magazine before exhibiting her photographic work internationally in London, New York and Los Angeles. Her celebrated Movie Tips series—a playful recreation of iconic film scenes using cotton buds—was later published as a book by Rankin.
Her debut feature documentary, Trollywood, was nominated for the British Independent Film Award (BIFA) for Best Documentary and won Best Documentary at both the Cinemania and Oslo Film Festivals.
For more than twenty years Madeleine worked with The Aspinall Foundation, documenting endangered wildlife and conservation projects around the world. She directed Discovery Channel's 13-part series Gorilla School, filmed in the rainforests of West Africa, and her short film capturing Damian Aspinall's emotional reunion with Kwibi, a gorilla he helped raise, has been viewed more than 45 million times worldwide.
Her feature documentary Stooge premiered at the Raindance Film Festival, where it received a nomination for Best UK Feature.
Her latest feature documentary, Fist Bump, premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival and received the NYWIFT Loreen Arbus Disability Awareness Grant Award. The film has since earned the Harlem International Film Festival Impact Award together with multiple Best Documentary honours at international film festivals, including Berlin Kiez, Stockholm City, Bracciano, Bridges and Awareness.
Today, Madeleine is developing both documentary and narrative features, bringing the same cinematic eye and fascination with complex, unconventional characters to every project.