Debs Paterson is a director whose work combines visceral action and cinematic world-building with intimate, character-led storytelling. She is currently in post-production on her feature film, ZERO PROTOCOL, starring Rebecca Hall and Marcia Gay Harden, and produced by Anton and Andy Serkis’ Imaginarium for Amazon MGM.

Her debut feature, AFRICA UNITED (Pathé/BBC Films), premiered at TIFF before receiving a gala screening at the BFI London Film Festival, earning standing ovations at both. Debs earned Best Debut Director nomination at the British Independent Film Awards and was named a BAFTA Brit to Watch.

In 2018, J.J. Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy invited Debs to document the making of STAR WARS: EPISODE IX. The resulting documentary feature, THE SKYWALKER LEGACY, was released in 2020 and received a mention on SlashFilm’s best films of the year list​.

Debs began directing television with STRIKE BACK, becoming the first female director across its six seasons. Her subsequent credits include HALO Season 2, WILLOW and HARLOTS. She most recently directed episodes of Apple TV+, Anonymous and Skydance’s adaptation of William Gibson’s NEUROMANCER, due for release in late 2026.

Alongside her directing career, Debs co-founded ELEVATE with BAFTA winning producer Ivana MacKinnon, an initiative supporting diverse hiring networks in the UK’s high-end TV industry. She has served on juries for the Directors Guild of America, BAFTA, the Royal Television Society and Women in Film & TV.