Hot Shots 2025: Louis Ruscombe-King

Louis Ruscombe-King’s journey to making access-driven films about the biggest political and humanitarian issues of our time is far from ordinary. Leaving school at 17 due to issues aggravated by his ADHD and dyslexia, he travelled to Israel and Palestine hoping to break into docs, despite having no formal training or industry contacts.

Working informally with journalists and documentary crews, he taught himself how to shoot, edit, develop relationships with contributors and gain access to organisations and locations.

After a decade working as a prop man, Ruscombe-King was accepted onto the NFTS Summer Docs course in 2019. After he shot, directed and edited short docs on autism and young carers, his short, The Young Radical, was chosen for Channel 4’s True Stories strand. Since then, he’s clocked up credits with Roast Beef TV, Anagram, Raw TV and Keo Films.

On Keo Films’ Stopping The Boats (w/t) for C4, he built on his experiences shooting The Young Radical, directing storylines about asylum seekers and anti-migrant protesters.

“Louis is down to earth, personable, persuasive and perceptive,” says Keo creative director James Bluemel. “He’s good at capturing the scenes, thinking on his feet and keeping the access open.”