Biography

I grew up in Levittown, NY with an avant guard filmmaker father, Ed Emshwiller, and a writer mother, Carol Emshwiller. I got a BFA from Syracuse University in painting and printmaking and then an MFA from California Institute of the Arts where I studied film under Alexander Mackendrick ("Man in the White Suit", "Sweet Smell of Success"). As a set decorator, my “day job”, I've worked with David Mamet, Michael Apted, Graeme Clifford, and often with Robert Altman on "The Player", (in which I'm a featured actress) "Short Cuts", "Kansas City", and "Cookie's Fortune". I've written and directed plays including the critically acclaimed and award winning "Brush Stokes", inspired by paintings of Edward Hopper. My short film "Breakfast Messages" won several awards and played on A&E network. I've written screenplays for Amy Madigan, Bill Pullman, and co-wrote the Academy Award winning film "Pollock" for actor/director Ed Harris. My debut feature, "In the Land of Milk and Money", a wild social satire, includes Amy Madigan, Frances Bay, and Tom Bower. The film garnered awards and rave reviews on the festival circuit in the US and internationally. It is available on Netflix. I'm currently doing freelance videography, writing scripts, script doctoring, making short videos for contests, and planning the next feature. I'm a storyteller at heart; whether writing and directing plays, making short films or videos, or scratching out poems. Now that technology has put the tools in the hands of all people, I'm thrilled to have my little backyard be another in a growing number of homespun studios.