Quick Facts
Biography
Russell "Russ" Emanuel (born August 31, 1977) is an American director, producer, and independent filmmaker.
Emanuel was born in San Francisco, California to Charles Phillip Emanuel and Akemi Tsujita, but grew up in both Japan and the United States. He has stated that his background and upbringing have gifted him and his work with a very international view of the world. Emanuel founded Russem Productions, a Los Angeles based production company in 2002, and has produced and directed a number of award-winning short and feature length films.
In 2015, Emanuel was listed in Del Weston's book "The Top 100 Indie Filmmakers in the World Part 1".
Films
Emanuel attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles with an emphasis in film studies, international relations, and Japanese. His films have explored many genres, including science fiction, horror, drama, comedy, and fantasy.
Emanuel's first films were shorts, including Her Knight (2003) and the award-winning Girl with Gun (2006). In 2007, Emanuel produced his first feature film, P.J., which won seven national and international film awards. The film received many favorable reviews and the cinematography has been stylistically compared to Godard and the silent films of the German Expressionist movement. Emanuel subsequently directed the feature film Chasing the Green (2009), starring William Devane, and The Legends of Nethiah (2012) starring John Heard and Robert Picardo. His 2015 horror feature film Occupants, starring Robert Picardo, screened at several film festivals, including Shriekfest 2016.
Documentaries
Emanuel directed and produced the documentary film Restoration of Paradise (2014). Emanuel filmed the beauty of the Bolsa Chica wetlands and documeented the history of the land, which has at different times been a Native American settlement, President Teddy Roosevelt's Gun Club, and a World War II home for artillery batteries. Emanuel worked with the local environmental group, Amigos de Bolsa Chica, on the project. The documentary was narrated by Robert Picardo of Star Trek fame. The film was well-received on the film festival circuit, and won the SoCal Film Festival Award for Achievement in Local Filmmaking.
Selected filmography
| Year | Work | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | The Failures | Assistant to Producer |
| Her Knight | Producer, Director, Writer | |
| 2004 | The Diary | Producer |
| 2005 | Mavet | Producer |
| 2006 | Girl with Gun | Producer, Director |
| 2007 | The Rapture | Associate Producer |
| Perfect Red | Producer | |
| 2008 | P.J. | Producer, Director |
| 2009 | Chasing the Green | Director |
| 2010 | Cult 11 | Producer - 4 episodes, Director - 2 episodes: "Nurse Janet's Happy Place", "Make-Up Time, Mr. President" |
| 2012 | The Legends of Nethiah | Director |
| 2013 | The Meeting | Director, Editor - 2 episodes: "Tales from the Curbside: A Prairie Homeless Companion", "A Savage Meeting" |
| 2014 | Restoration of Paradise | Producer, Director, Writer, Cinematographer, Editor |
| 2015 | Occupants | Director |
| 2017 | Collar | Producer, Director |
| Allegedly | Producer | |
| The Assassin's Apprentice | Director | |
| 2018 | Lighter Than Air | Producer |
| Wisper Project | Director |
Awards
Action on Film International Film Festival
- (2015) – Best Cinematography Documentary / Restoration of Paradise, with Russ Emanuel (director)
- (2014) Nominated – Best Documentary Short / Restoration of Paradise: The Bolsa Chica Wetlands – Behind the Scenes, with Jean-Cleade Buie (director)
- (2007) Nominated – Best Horror Film of the Year / Perfect Red (2007), with David Covarrubias (producer), Chris Hanson (producer), Emile Haris (producer), Jeff Scott (producer)
Boston Science Fiction Film Festival
- (2017) Best Found Footage / Occupants (2015), with Howard Nash
Canada International Film Festival
- (2010) Award for Excellence in Feature Film Competition / Chasing the Green (2009), with Howard Nash, Craig Frankel
Hollywood MiniDV Festival
- (2008) Festival Prize for Best Music Score/ Perfect Red (2007), with Neil Argo (composer)
- (2005) Festival Prize for Best Horror/Scary Short / The Diary (2004), with David Covarrubias (director, producer)
Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival
- (2016) Best Trailer/ Occupants (2015)
Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema
- (2017) Excellence in Filmmaking / Occupants (2015), with Howard Nash (producer), Robert Kwartler (producer), Prem Singh (executive producer), Aaron Retford (executive producer)
- (2017) Nominated – Best Feature / Occupants (2015), with Howard Nash (producer), Robert Kwartler (producer), Prem Singh (executive producer), Aaron Retford (executive producer)
- (2017) Nominated – Best Director / Occupants (2015)
New Jersey International Festival
- (2008) Grand Prize for Best Feature Film/Video/ P.J. (2008)
Park City Film Music Festival
- (2010) Bronze Medal for Excellence – Impact Music for Short Film/ Cult 11 (2010), with Neil Argo John Paul Ouvrier
- (2010) Silver Medal for Excellence – Narrative Short Film: Audience Choice – Best Impact of Music / Cult 11 (2010), with Neil Argo John Paul Ouvrier
- (2009) Gold Medal for Excellence – Awards for Best Impact of Music in a Feature Film / Chasing the Green (2009), with Neil Argo, Jason Livesay, Howard Nash
- (2008) Bronze Medal for Excellence – Best Impact of Music in a Feature Film Competition Awards- Artistic Excellence / P.J. (2008), with Neil Argo
- (2007) Silver Medal for Excellence – Narrative Short Film: Jury Choice – Best Impact of Music / Mavet (2005), with Neil Argo
- (2006) Silver Medal for Excellence – Narrative Short Film: Jury Choice – Best Impact of Music / Girl with Gun (2006), with Neil Argo
Shriekfest
- (2016) Best Sci-Fi Feature / Occupants (2015)
SoCal Independent Film Festival
- (2017) Audience Choice Award / Occupants (2015)
- (2017) Best Director / Occupants (2015)
- (2014) Special Achievement in Local Filmmaking / Restoration of Paradise (2014)
WorldFest Houston
- (2012) Silver Award for Independent Theatrical Feature Films – Family/Children / The Legends of Nethiah (2012), with Howard Nash, Jeremiah Sayys