Molly Manning Walker

Molly Manning Walker is a British film director, writer, and cinematographer. Her debut feature film How to Have Sex won the Un Certain Regard Award at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and the European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI at the 36th European Film Awards. In 2024, she earned two nominations at the 77th British Academy Film Awards for How to Have Sex, including Outstanding British Film and Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.

Early life and education

Manning Walker was born in the West London Borough of Ealing, the daughter of theatre and film creatives Andy Walker and Lesley Manning. Her older brother Charlie Manning-Walker is a member of the band Chubby and the Gang.
Manning Walker attended Elthorne Park High School and St Augustine's Priory. She was interested in photography in school and invited to photograph an Occupy London event, which Manning Walker turned into a documentary. She went on to study Cinematography at Arts University Bournemouth, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 2015, and the National Film and Television School, graduating with a Master of Arts in 2018.

Career

Manning rose to prominence as a cinematographer before attracting acclaim for her directing, shooting dozens of short films and music videos from the early 2010s until the early 2020s.
In 2023, Manning served as the cinematographer on Charlotte Regan's debut feature Scrapper.
Her debut feature, How to Have Sex, was developed with Film4. How to Have Sex won the Un Certain Regard Award at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and the European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI at the 36th European Film Awards. In 2024, she earned two nominations at the 77th British Academy Film Awards for How to Have Sex, including Outstanding British Film and Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.
In 2025, Manning was selected as the head of the jury for the Un Certain Regard section of the 78th Cannes Film Festival.
Manning began developing her first television series with A24 and Channel 4 in 2025, titled Major Players. The series will "follows two girls on the brink of adulthood and their mission to start a women’s football team." Production on the series began in September of that year.

Personal life

Manning Walker co-founded the Sunday league football team Babes City FC.
Walker chose Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank as her top film of all time when asked by Criterion.

Filmography

Short films

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Cinematographer	Notes
2012	Out of Tune
2015	More Hate Than Fear
2015	Khadejah
2016	The Worlds My Oyster				Documentary short
2016	Softly Softly Catchy Monkey
2017	Lead
2017	Cabin Pressure
2017	Shrink
2018	Reach
2018	Uneatable
2019	My Mother
2019	La Entrevista
2019	Seven
2019	Deep Clean
2019	City of Children				Documentary short
2019	One Liner
2019	November 1st
2019	Pompeii
2019	Our Sister
2019	Absent
2020	The Forgotten C
2020	Acrimonious
2020	Good Thanks, You?

Feature films

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Cinematographer
2023	Scrapper
2025	How to Have Sex

Music videos

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Cinematographer
2017	Kwaye, "Little Ones"
2018	Tom Walker, "My Way"
2018	A$AP Rocky, "Sundress"
2019	James Blake, "Can't Believe the Way We Flow"
2020	645AR ft. FKA Twigs, "Sum Bout U"

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Cinematographer
TBA	Major Players

Awards

Her 2020 short film Good Thanks, You? was selected at the Critics' Week in Cannes. Her grad film took Bronze at the Student Academy Awards, and Manning-Walker was nominated at Camerimage in 2019. Her debut feature film How to Have Sex won the Un Certain Regard Award at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and the European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI at the 36th European Film Awards.
In 2024, she received two nominations at the 77th British Academy Film Awards for How to Have Sex, including Outstanding British Film and Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.