theOscarSite Bio: A third generation filmmaker from an Oscar-winning family, Leslie is continuing in the passion for visual storytelling. After graduating the USC Cinema school in 1993, Iwerks assisted several top film directors on several films for Disney, Universal and HBO, including LIAR, LIAR, THE NUTTY PROFESSOR, GIA and MIGHTY DUCKS 2. In 2001, she served as Manager of Film Production / New Business Development for Iwerks Entertainment, where she developed large format 70mm films and documentaries. Her 1997 live-action short entitled SUCH A NIGHT was screened in many festivals nationwide and won several awards. She has served as juror and panelist for many film festivals domestically and internationally, and her work has been featured in numerous newspaper, radio and television spots internationally.

As director, writer and executive producer, Iwerks completed "Disney's 20th Anniversary Special" for Pixar Animation Studios which aired on ABC in 2006 and THE PIXAR STORY (2007), a 90-minute feature documentary about the history of Pixar.

2006's RECYCLED LIFE chronicles the thousands of people who have been living and working in the largest and most toxic landfill in Central America over the last 60 years -- the Guatemala City garbage dump.

THE RIDE is a big-wave reality-adventure that Iwerks directed and co-produced, featuring six of the world's top surfers converging in Hawaii for the island's biggest swell in recent history.

Her award-winning theatrical documentary for Walt Disney Pictures entitled THE HAND BEHIND THE MOUSE - THE UB IWERKS STORY chronicles the life of her grandfather, the original designer and co-creator of Mickey Mouse and Oscar-winning motion picture pioneer.

· Achievement in Documentary Short Subjects 2006: RECYCLED LIFE (w. Mike Glad)