Em J. Gilbertson (they/them) is a writer/director from Liverpool, working across film, television and music videos. Em is represented by the Independent Talent Group and currently working towards their first feature film. Their previous work has explored gender roles and the pressure to assimilate into dangerous environments but new projects are exploring non-binary identities and freedom. Em likes to draw upon personal experience to create complicated queer characters that examine the human condition. They have a passion for creating work that champions dance, spoken word and music whilst featuring it in innovative and unorthodox ways.
A recent graduate of the prestigious NFTS' Directing Fiction course and a Channel 4 Scholar. Their graduation film: Requiem starring Bella Ramsey (The Last of Us and Game of Thrones) was the Winner of Best Postgraduate Drama at the Royal Television Society Student Awards 2022 and has been selected at multiple BAFTA qualifying film festivals.
Since graduating, Em has done some second unit directing on BBC's "Silent Witness" and ITV's "Malpractice". Previously Em shadowed BAFTA nominated Phil Barantini and the legendary Mary Harron. Em has also directed multiple music videos that have featured on MTV and in Kerrang!
Em's previous work: Crashing Waves saw a lot of success on the festival circuit and was Broadcast on Channel 4 as part of Series 5 of Random Acts. The film was nominated for the Iris Prize, gained a Vimeo Staff Pick and was an official selection for #fivefilmsforfreedom presented by the British Council and BFI Flare in 2019.
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