Visionaries-repped and Emmy Award-winning director Leo McCrea teams up with The Gate Films to launch his latest work “Because of You”, a new campaign for The National Lottery.

The campaign, fronted by television presenter Claudia Winkleman, celebrates the extraordinary impact of National Lottery players in supporting good causes throughout the UK. Through a series of immersive short films, Because of You highlights how each ticket purchased directly contributes to projects that change lives and strengthen communities.

The first instalment, entitled “Bloom”, takes audiences to Sheffield, where Claudia accompanies local Tanita to visit Bloom, a community gardening initiative founded by Kendall Turner. What began as a small neighbourhood gathering has grown into a thriving hub supporting around 70 people through therapeutic workshops and family sessions. Over the past four years, Bloom has received £269,000 in funding from The National Lottery Community Fund.

Under McCrea’s direction, Bloom captures the warmth, authenticity and human connection at the heart of these community stories. His distinctive storytelling style lends cinematic depth to real-life moments of generosity and transformation.

Produced by The Gate Films, with Executive Producer Rhiannon Lewis overseeing production, the seven-part ‘Because of You’ series will run nationwide, extending into 2026.

Leo had this to say about the project:

“Working closely with fantastic Creative Director Danielle Allison Melia and Rhiannon Lewis at The Gate, we created a series that harnessed emotive storytelling in a short form series format. This was only possible because of the great causes the National Lottery team gave us to work with and weeks of prep & research to make sure we told the stories in the right way. Hosting the series is THE Claudia Winkleman who has the ability to connect with anyone she meets. I feel like these aren’t charity stories, they are a celebration of people who look out for and support each other. Hope you like them too. Six more to come!”