TIFF 2025 Interview with Sasha Leigh Henry, Director of ‘Dinner With Friends’

Interview by Mercedes Gonzales-Bazan

In this TIFF 2025 interview, Mercedes Gonzales-Bazan, content producer for The Light Leaks, chats with director, writer, and producer Sasha Leigh Henry about her debut feature film Dinner With Friends. 

The film is about of group of friends in their thirties trying to maintain their closeness as they navigate the realities of these new stages of life. Henry shares her experience making the film and insights into the industry from microbudgets to casting.

What made Dinner with Friends the script you wanted to put on screen?

Sasha Leigh Henry, Director: Well, I mean, I guess it just it was kind of born out of necessity and in a response. The thing I mean, the reality of it is the industry is in a really weird topsy-turvy time, and you know, the idea came to me and my writing partner and creative partner, Tanya Thompson, and I started writing it in the pandemic, and you know, I think just we love talking movies, right? And I'm an independent filmmaker through and through. And so while I was fortunate enough to get to make a series in Canada with a really big network, ultimately I'm constantly in my mind like, you know what do I have? What can I make with whatever I have right now? And so this idea came to me.

As a Canadian filmmaker, what was it like to have the world premiere of your first feature at TIFF and be amongst the audience? Were there any special moments?

Sasha Leigh Henry, Director: You know, I hate to brag, but I am going to, this is my, you know, fifth debut at TIFF. I've had produced two projects and had three projects of my own. So, it was like a very, very unique feeling in that I could almost feel a bit experienced at it. Like, you know, there's been years when my first and second years, you know, I would burn myself out so much, and I'd RSVP to everything, and I would do all of that stuff. And this year, I felt like I just had a better sense. I mean, it was still full on, but to get a better sense of how to manage my time. And then the premiere, like it never gets old, right? You're just never gonna have a warmer audience, a more loving audience, right?

Can you share more about that pre-production process?

Sasha Leigh Henry, Director: I think one of the things for me as a creative, as a head creative, was I needed to know what I wanted and I needed to know needed to be flexible, right? But again, we wrote the movie or designed it to be kind of scalable, something that we could shoot if we had a ton of money, and not a lot of money. So, it came down with prioritizing locations, of course, because that was going to determine just how much set dressing we would be looking for, how much all of that kind of stuff. So, that was a key priority. And then once we had those, even though it was a tight shoot, but kind of I would say our prep was about a month for like people like myself, Tanya (Producer/Co-Writer), and Grant (Cinematographer).

During the ensemble in these dinner party scenes, the audience feels like they're in the room because of the camera's really fluid motion in these contained spaces. How did you collaborate with your DP to capture this film's energy on camera?

Sasha Leigh Henry, Director: Yeah, I mean, we shot listed pretty extensively. Like, we spent a good few days just sitting with the script and going through each scene. And I mean quickly realizing that it's told over a series of seven dinners, and so we don't want each of them to feel the same, and kind of leaning into that to start building a visual language.

What do you think are the key factors in writing three-dimensional characters and arcs that really feel true?

Sasha Leigh Henry, Director: Be good writers. No, I'm joking. I mean, my writing partner is really strong at structure. I think, you know, it's definitely kudos to her that I think all of the arts complete as well as they do in there for sure. I do think it's something that I am good at, like I think it's in the details and the specificities. It's like, how do you make them 3D with the specifics right, or what wrench can you throw in it? I love dialogue. So, I think I feel confident to really, kind of just reflect how I really hear people talk and how I talk and that kind of thing.

Watch the full interview to learn more!