Leah X Rathe is a filmmaker and freelancer based in Minnesota. She holds a B.A. in Digital Media Arts with a Paralegal Certificate from Hamline University. No matter the form, documentary, narrative, or animation, her films are rooted in a deep commitment to uplifting underrepresented voices and communities. She is especially passionate about expanding narratives that center adoptee perspectives and rural stories, using film as a bridge to spark connection, understanding, and curiosity.
Leah is a 2023 Ignite Rural Artist-in-Residence, a 2024 StorySeeds Screenwriting Fellow, a member of the 2024 CAAL MOVEE Asian American Leadership Cohort, a 2024 Five Wings Art Council Artist Grantee, and a 2025-2026 Fresh Vantage Documentary Grant Recipient.
Her debut animated short film CHOPSTICK, centered around her own experiences as a Chinese adoptee, has screened in film festivals across the U.S. and beyond, including the Adoptee Film Fest, Cucalorus, the City of Angels Women’s Film Festival, and the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival. CHOPSTICK has also received awards for Best Writing and Best Animated Film.
Leah directed The Accelerators: Brains, Braids, & Bots, a featurette documentary spotlighting an all-girls First Robotics team in Cass Lake, MN, located on the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Reservations. She earned the Independent Spirit Award as the film's director at the 2024 Ely Film Festival and the film received the Top 10 Best of the Fest Award at the 2024 Show Low Film Festival.