Emilie Blythe McDonald

Emilie is a film director and screenwriter who basically grew up in the back of a VW bus, traveling through the U.S. and Mexico. She writes and directs visually arresting films that bring a compassionate eye to often-overlooked characters and the conflicts that permeate their everyday lives. Her films have won multiple awards and screened at festivals internationally including BAMcinemaFest, Nantucket, Palm Springs, IndieMemphis, Sidewalk, Cucalorus, and Berkshire Film Festival. With her latest project, FLOR AND AMAN AGAINST THE MOTHERFUCKING WORLD, she won Sun Valley Film Festival’s 2024 High Scribe Award, was Quarterfinalist for the Academy Nicholl Fellowships and ScreenCraft’s Screenwriting Fellowship, was Finalist for Nashville Film Festival’s Screenwriting Competition, and participated in The Gotham’s U.S. Features in Development section of the 2024 Project Market as well as Stowe Story Lab’s New Voices New Mexico fellowship. She’s also participated in Cine Qua Non, IFP’s No Borders, Creative Capital’s Artists Summer Institute and the Indie Film Clinic.

Selected past projects include the narrative hybrid feature QUEEN ANNE’S LACE, MUCK (best narrative short, IndieMemphis), CHURROS (Hammer to Nail short film award), CROSSING THE RIVER (best ensemble cast, NYC Downtown Short Film Festival; best short, NUHO Online Film Festival), OTHER PEOPLE’S HOUSES and MY ELENA. She has a BA in Film from Vassar and an MFA in Film from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She’s a member of Film Fatales and New Mexico Women in Film and is a founding member of an NYC-based writing group comprised of female directors. Emilie has served on festival juries and spoken on panels about crowdfunding, social issue films and more. Emilie worked in development at Milk & Honey Films and was Creative Director at Filmmakers Alliance. She currently lives in Albuquerque, NM where she enjoys mountains, green chile and thrifting.