Emily Sheskin is an award winning film and commercial director who tells stories full of optimism and resilience, without glossing over life’s challenges. She takes great pride in seeing her short films featured in The New York Times, National Geographic, The Atlantic, and even pirated on TikTok (though she’d prefer credit).
Emily is currently diving into the world of speed puzzling, with a short Livestreams with GrandmaPuzzles and a feature, Puzzle People (in development). Even though she’s found her niche in nonfiction content, she still enjoys working with actors both commercially and independently.
She holds a BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and is a member of New York Women in Film & Television, Film Fatales, and the FilmShop’s DocShop. She is currently 1/2 of the duo behind Chicken Wing Pictures. Feel free to say hi at emily@chickenwingpictures[dot]com.
Please List the Title of Your Film at BIFF 2025
Livestreams with GrandmaPuzzles
What was your first experience with film and how did it influence your first project?
The first movie I ever saw was Snow White when I was 4-years-old. When the prince kissed snow white and they rode off into the sunset, I burst out crying and was inconsolable because I could not understand why she’d leave her good friends for a man who was essentially a stranger.
While this experience may not have directly influenced my first project, I’ve always viewed the world through a different lens, often arriving at conclusions that challenge mainstream thinking. I’m drawn to stories that live in the grey areas—ones where a tough, stoic figure turns out to be a loving, attentive father, or a tech-illiterate grandmother discovers a new sense of purpose and community through Twitch.
Who is (are) your favorite filmmakers?
Hayao Miyazaki, a living legend of an animator, who once famously said in a documentary that, “Filmmaking only brings suffering. Can’t believe I actually want to do another one.”
What are you working on that no one knows about?
By the time the festival happens it will likely be done, but I have been a one-person-marketing-machine as of late, figuring out creative ways for distribution and to engage a large audience.
Who would play you in a movie? What’s your go to movie snack? What’s the film title that best describes your life?
– ChatGPT says Jenny Slate
– Popcorn
– Alice in Wonderland because I am constantly going down rabbit holes
