Genre
Synopsis
On The Islands, haunted by a history of colonialism and exploitation, an explosion at a newly opened luxury resort built on mine-gutted land tears open a festering wound. Separately and simultaneously, three Islanders are hurled into their own unfaithful recollections of a more acute trauma- the months leading up to the assassination of their Mayor. Sage, the mayor’s unfaithful wife, Joni the Island’s English teacher and Mai, an unmoored teen, become enmeshed in an environmental restoration project that forces a social reckoning.
Set among rugged emerald cliffs and deep blue seas, landscape and flashes of memory from characters in crisis piece together a surrealist thriller that dances between eras and exhumes the ghosts of past tragedies- personal and environmental- in a mystery of not what happened, but how it happened to craft a universal story about identity, acceptance and how our wounds define us.
Bio
Emily’s films span fiction, documentary and interactive realms. Her work includes SANDORKRAUT, a NEW YORK TIMES Op-doc; a chimerical puppetry short THE NEVER BELL, a feminist-futurist film THE CLOCK and her lyrical feature SONG OF THE BASQUES. She wrote and produced KARLA’S ARRIVAL - short-listed for Spain’s Goya’s- and directed NBC’s Comedy Showcase. She’s written two award-winning screenplays MIDLAND and ALL THAT FOLLOWS and two of her pilots ABUELA HIERBA and INVISIBLE ISLANDS have won development awards from multiple arts councils and foundations. She’s currently directing THE BABY DIDN’T HURT HER JUMP-SHOT and also in development with a period-drama sports series THE NARRATIVE about the unlikely friendship between Muhammad Ali and George Plimpton. Recognized by national film bodies across Europe and Latin America, Emily’s earned accolades from The Smithsonian Institute, NBC Talent, Tribeca Film, HBO, Fulbright Foundation, PBS, Sundance, Marble House, IFP, Film Independent and the Sloan Foundation. Studies in Art and Music at Amherst College sparked her interest in Film; after earning a Masters at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, she dove into camera and art crews in Europe. Emily plays cello, competed as an elite triathlete speaks Spanish, French, and Basque and volunteers as a translator for detained migrants and asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border.
Awards History
WINNER OAXACA FILM FESTIVAL BEST SCREENPLAY- THRILLER
RUNNER-UP ATLANTA SCREENWRITING COMPETITION
