Leire Apellaniz develops an active work as a producer and director through the production companies Sr.&Sra. and Apellaniz&de Sosa. In 2015 she produced and directed her first documentary, "The Last Summer", premiered in Karlovy Vary. In 2017 she co-produced with Labyrint Films (ES) the documentary debut feature by Ana Schulz and Cristóbal Fernández "Mudar la piel" premiered at the Locarno Film Festival.
Her next documentary production "Las letras de Jordi", the first film by Maider Fernández Iriarte, was premiered in the New Directors section at Zinemaldia. She also produced "Ventajas de viajar en tren", a film by Aritz Moreno, nominated for four Goyas and a European Film Academy Award. She has recently released "Espíritu sagrado", by Chema García Ibarra, which received a special mention at the Locarno Festival and won a Feroz award. She has also just released "Canto cósmico. Niño de Elche", which she has produced and directed together with Marc Sempere-Moya.
She is currently producing the upcoming projects of Pablo Hernando, Maider Fernández Iriarte, Lois Patiño, Aritz Moreno, Irati Gorostidi and Ion de Sosa, and developing "Zuria", which will be her first feature film as a director.
She has worked as a teacher in several film-research and creation centers. She was a tutor for a year at 2deo, a laboratory for audiovisual creation and experimentation located in Tabakalera. In addition, for two years she was part of the NOKA mentoring program, a training and support program that aims to promote the work and visibility of Basque filmmakers in the audiovisual sector. She currently works as a tutor and creative accompaniment at the Elias Querejeta Zine Eskola.
In addition, Leire Apellaniz has been responsible for the technical department of the San Sebastian Festival for ten years.