Em J. Gilbertson
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Director
- Writer
Em J. Gilbertson is a Writer/Director originally from Liverpool. Em was raised in a single parent family by pub landlady: Sue Gilbertson. The pub was rife for people watching and seeing individuals from all walks of life. They are a graduate of the prestigious NFTS Directing Fiction Course, and a Channel 4 Scholar. Em is represented by the Independent Talent Group and working towards their first feature film.
They are primarily interested in creating stories about the working class experience, female identity and queerness. 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
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 and Academy Award qualifying film festivals.
In 2019, their film: "Crashing Waves." (A queer dance film exploring sexuality and gender performance.) had a lot of success on the festival circuit as well being broadcast on Channel 4 as part of "Random Acts." The Film was nominated for the reputable Iris Prize, picked up by Aesthetica, gained a Vimeo Staff pick and selected for #fivefilmsforfreedom presented by Arts-British Council in partnership with BFI Flare. Em went on to be nominated for Best Director at Underwire.
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!
They are primarily interested in creating stories about the working class experience, female identity and queerness. 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
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 and Academy Award qualifying film festivals.
In 2019, their film: "Crashing Waves." (A queer dance film exploring sexuality and gender performance.) had a lot of success on the festival circuit as well being broadcast on Channel 4 as part of "Random Acts." The Film was nominated for the reputable Iris Prize, picked up by Aesthetica, gained a Vimeo Staff pick and selected for #fivefilmsforfreedom presented by Arts-British Council in partnership with BFI Flare. Em went on to be nominated for Best Director at Underwire.
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!
