Emma Dark
Biography:
Emma Dark is an award-winning filmmaker, and actress working within the Horror, Sci-Fi and Fantasy genres. Deeply passionate about film and creativity, Emma made an initial foray into genre filmmaking in 2014 with fun horror short Island of the Blind Dead (2015), before embarking on her first first self-produced and directed festival short film - horror/action Seize the Night (2015), featuring Anthony Ilott (Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort), with fight choreography by Roy Scammell (Alien, A Clockwork Orange). Her work on "Seize the Night" went on to win Emma the 'Rising Star' award at Northern Ireland's Yellow Fever Independent Film Festival in 2015, and the 'Outstanding Female Filmmaker' award from Stormy Weather Horror Fest in 2017. The film garnered reviews from a multitude of genre websites including Dread Central and Starburst, a three page print review and front page mention in UK horror magazine Scream, as well as a news article on AMC's Horror Channel website. Emma's second festival short film, sci-fi/horror Salient Minus Ten (2017), received a glitzy world premiere at Cineworld Leicester Square, London as part of the British Horror Film Festival in 2017. The film went on to play festivals across the world, winning Emma a Starburst Magazine MediaCity Film Festival 2018 'Best Director' award, the Yellow Fever Independent Film Festival 2018 'Albert Pyun Inspiration Award', and the 'Best Editing' award from Stormy Weather Horror Fest 2019. The film stars "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back" actor Alan Austen in the lead role, with cinematography from internationally renowned DoP Philip Bloom. A strong advocator of raising awareness of women in film, 2016 saw Emma grace the front cover of issue 39 of independent filmmaking magazine 'Digital FilmMaker Magazine', heading an article charting the rise of female filmmakers. Emma later went on to helm the magazine's monthly 'Ask the Filmmaker' section in 2017, answering readers film production questions as the resident expert. In 2018 Emma spoke on stage at PR Week and Campaign Magazine's Brand Film Festival (London) as part of a women in film discussion panel focusing on female leaders in the film industry, hosted by journalist Miranda Sawyer. Front of camera, some of Emma's acting achievements include playing the lead role of Lexi in Martin Daniels' House of Lexi (2019), starring in Frankula (2017) alongside Hammer Horror scream queens Caroline Munro and Judy Matheson, and featuring in music video B.E.F. Feat. Kim Wilde: Every Time I See You I Go Wild (2013). Following the success of both Emma's films and acting roles she has appeared as a celebrity autograph guest at a number of conventions across the UK, including Birmingham's MCM Comic Con and Sheffield's HorrorCon UK. No stranger to publicity, Emma has been featured in various interviews, radio shows and magazine articles, including a five page interview in issue 187 of The Dark Side, the world's leading print horror magazine. She is also an honorary patron of the arts for London's Misty Moon Film Society. Most recently Emma has completed short film segment "Goryo" for Nicolai Kornum's topical horror anthology The isolation Horrors (2020). "Salient Minus Ten" is set for general release in 2020, and Emma's third festival short film is in pre-production.