Russ Emanuel


Russell "Russ" Emanuel is an American director, producer, and independent filmmaker, having directed such actors as John Heard, Robert Picardo, Vincent Pastore, Glynnis O'Connor, Hallie Kate Eisenberg, Jeremy London, Ryan Hurst, William Devane, Marina Sirtis, Sean Kenney, Armin Shimerman, and Gary Graham.
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 and the award-winning Girl with Gun. 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, starring William Devane, and The Legends of Nethiah starring John Heard and Robert Picardo. His 2015 horror feature film Occupants, starring Robert Picardo, screened at numerous film festivals, including Shriekfest 2016.

Documentaries

Emanuel directed and produced the documentary film Restoration of Paradise. Emanuel filmed the beauty of the Bolsa Chica wetlands and documented 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.

Filmography

Awards

Action on Film International Film Festival
Bare Bones International Film Festival
Boston Science Fiction Film Festival
Canada International Film Festival
Chandler International Film Festival
Hollywood MiniDV Festival
Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival
IFS Film Festival
Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema
Indigo Moon Film Festival
Las Cruces International Festival
New Jersey Film Festival
Shriekfest
SoCal Independent Film Festival
WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival