EMILY

Philip Thomas Michels

Cinephile turned film scholar turned first-time director.
I have a background in economics, which is exactly where it belongs, and where it can stay: in the background. After this detour, I started pursuing my passion for the moving image and studied film in Vienna and the Netherlands. I analysed the heck out of all of my favourite movies and drowned them in philosophical readings until I walked out of there with my MA. As fun as all that was, however, I couldn’t resist the urge to get my hands dirty myself, so I grabbed pen and pencil to write a short film. Aaaaand here we are. I also dabble in fiction writing, am a freelance journalist and am into surfing and bikepacking.

Director Statement

I love horror films that use horror as a vehicle. As a means to explore emotion, hardship or mental illness, rather than having the horror be the goal itself, as in a scary clown costume or a stranger running with a chainsaw (Not that there is anything wrong with that, just don’t trip!).
In my film, I wanted to dive into the fear of a mother-to-be and challenge the patriarchal dogma according to which all women are, by nature, born mothers, and that having a child is a universally wonderful experience. It may be for some, most even, but to others, it can turn into a nightmare. Baby blues and other post-partum mental illnesses are far more common than the self-help literature in the baby section suggests, and I tried using horror elements to explore a potential worst-case scenario.