Meet Director: Emily Freda Sharp

After stalking Emily on instagram for a while, I asked her if she would be interested in being ‘virtually’ interviewed. Emily’s work is always so innovative and she somehow manages to blend humour with authenticity throughout her visual projects. We catch up over an online drink.

What is your background? When did you realise you wanted to become a Director?

For the most part, I always knew that I wanted to go into the creative industries. Growing up, it was the work I saw my family doing all around me; my dad was a Music Producer, my grandpa was a film director, my grandma was an actress, so I suppose it felt like a natural progression. I was lucky enough to go to a secondary school that specialised in performing arts as well, which really helped to validate the arts as a genuine career option as opposed to just a bit of extra-curricular fun. 

I didn’t hone in on film until I was about 16 though. Up until then I’d been fixated on dance. The turning point was a weirdly personal story, but it goes a long way to explaining how I’ve found myself committed to directing, 10 years later. So I may as well lay it out as it happened. 

When I was 15 and sitting my GCSE exams, my dad sadly passed away. That whole period of my life wasn’t exactly the best, but in the weeks after his death, I was given an opportunity that had a huge impact on me. At the time, my uncle was working as an assistant director on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and he managed to get me and a friend the opportunity to be extras in the film for a few weeks that summer. Despite everything else that was happening - the anxious wait, the funeral, the exams that still had to be sat - being on that film set was literally one of the most positive experiences of my life. I walked away thinking that if something could make me that happy, despite everything else that was going on around me, then it was something worth doing. 

Needless to say, that’s where the obsession started, but it’s been a long and convoluted journey to get to where I am today. I decided to leave school at 18 (unsurprisingly, I wasn’t a fan of exams by that point!), and over the years I’ve worked my way around the industry, to the point where I can now say that I’m officially directing. 

What is the best and worst aspect of your job? 

If you’ve ever experienced that moment where an idea or an edit clicks into place, then you’ll know what I mean when I say that it’s one of the most satisfying feelings in the world. If I had to narrow it down to any single aspect of my job, I think that moment would be the best. 

On the flip side, I think one of the worst aspects has to be the lack of security that comes with being part of a predominantly freelance industry. Director or otherwise, the instability can be incredibly hard to contend with, especially if you’re a woman who’d like to have a family one day. 

Early on in my career when I was working as a runner on large box office productions, I did become very anxious about the kind of future that the film industry might hold for me. On a crew of hundreds, I’d look around and see one female PA, one female Boom Op, and on occasion the odd female AD (but never the 1st!). I watched as those above me started to become parents; the dads proudly showing off pictures of their kids looking more and more tired by the day, and the mums just disappearing. 

It’s a complicated issue, which I can’t even begin to do justice in a quick answer, but the freelance industry has a lot to answer for. It’s not as though the full-time sector has got it perfect, but it’s miles ahead. More needs to be done to level the playing field. Of course things are changing, particularly with the help of gender diverse families pushing for new parenting models, but as long as heterosexual couples operate within systems that better supports mothers as primary carers and not fathers, there’s only so much progress we can expect to make. 

Any significant films/projects you worked on that have positively impacted on you and why/how? 

Aside from the poignant experience I had on Potter, I don’t think I could single out any one project that I’ve worked on as being more significantly positive than any other. There was a project I did in 2019 that had a big impact on my career though: I somewhat blindly took on the challenge of directing a one-shot commercial, and it was a huge learning curve. I think to an extent I was willfully ignorant as to the scale of what we were trying to do. I wanted 5 set changes, 4 costume changes, 3 adaptable spaces, all in a 2 minute sequence... and amazingly we managed to pull it off! 

Looking back, it was one of those insane projects you would only ever enter into if you have absolutely no idea as to the magnitude of what you’re trying to accomplish. That’s not to say I wouldn’t do it again in a heartbeat though. 

“Some Like It Hot” (Short IG Film) - Photography by Emily Freda Sharp

Have you ever faced any obstacles/setbacks in your career because you are a woman or any other reasons? 

Unless you count my grandpa literally telling me at the age of 17 that women shouldn’t go into film (unless they’re actresses, makeup artists, or ‘continuity girls’, who swiftly exit upon having children), then so far no. I’ve been lucky enough to never have had an experience of overt sexism or direct setbacks as a result of my gender. 

I may joke about it now, but his words have haunted me throughout my career. They’re a reminder that the industry we work in, just like the wider world, was born out of a sexist system that negatively affects all underrepresented genders. Similarly, many of the same principles can be said for the lack of racial diversity in film. We need to put the work into being actively anti-sexist and anti-racist before the industry can even begin to call itself close to equal. 

What is it about storytelling that fascinates you? 

I’ve always loved the notion of world building, but unlike the solitary approach of writing a book, filmmaking is a collaborative process. Many of the best films are built on the foundations of a good book, but in my opinion, there’s no better way to tell rich and immersive stories than through film. 

We get so little time in which to experience life; even if we’re lucky enough to live to old age, one person can’t even begin to scratch the surface of what life has to offer. As one of the most powerful tools to empathy, film has the ability to transport us beyond our own experiences and not only see more of the world, but also better understand those with whom we share it. 

“Storytelling is by definition a limitless tool, and what could be more fascinating than that?”

Do you ever find inspirations from your dreams? 

Annoyingly I am an excessive dreamer, to the point where it actually gets in the way of sleep. I hate to say it, but they’re vivid and frequent. I do find that a huge portion of my inspiration comes in the moments just before sleep though; that’s when I get my best thinking done. It possibly even goes a long way to explaining the poor quality of sleep I subsequently have - my head is a very busy, noisy place. 

After a busy day at work, you get back home and just want to chill out. What do you watch? 

Right now that’s a tough one to answer.... At the time of writing, I’m currently 3 months into working from home due to COVID-19, so chilling out after work doesn’t really have the same effect that it used to. Of course TV shows and films haven’t disappeared from our lives completely, but I suppose what I’m trying to say is when you’re at home all day every day, ‘chilling out’ doesn’t really come with the same relaxing sense of relief that it did in the past. 

For the first 2 months of lockdown I actually challenged myself to create a series of ‘ B-Movies ’ inspired by some of my favourite films, so that provided an excellent excuse to dig out the old classics. Over the course of 8 weeks I watched (and parodied) Clueless, Hackers, Austin Powers, Bend It Like Beckham, Natural Born Killers, Some Like It Hot, The Craft, and Spy Kids! I never said ‘the canon’ just ‘the classics’. 

In general though, I’ve got two watch lists that I keep in my notes on my phone and work my way through in an evening. The first is called ‘ ♀’ and the second is ‘ ’ (inventive, I know!). A few years ago I watched a great TedTalk by film reporter, Alice Malone. It was all about how diversity behind the camera leads to a paradigm shift in the stories that we see on screen, and her closing statement as to how we can support change was to simply watch more films made by diverse storytellers. So first I made a long list of films directed by women, and soon after I made a list of films directed by POC (obviously there’s some crossover, but those are the best ones because then I get to put a tick on both lists!). I’m still working my way through, but even just the act of researching and creating them was eye opening. 

“Clueless Still” by Emily Freda Sharp

What is your piece of advice to women looking at starting a career as a Director? 

Change takes time and more often than not, it’s incremental, so my main advice would be to try to not let the bigger picture stop you before you’ve even started. By tackling your career one step at a time, you yourself will be part of that crucial, incremental change. 

Obviously that’s a lot easier said than done, so my top tip would be this: sometimes, ignorance really is bliss. It’s a controversial opinion, but if employed tactically I honestly believe it can be a powerful tool. The one net-positive thing I learnt as a result of going to a girls’ school was that without question, women can do anything they want. Gender, race, and sexual orientation have no relevance to our talents or abilities. In many ways, it was my ignorance of sexism growing up that was my strength and armour when I entered the ‘real world’. 

People quite rightly fear the idea that ignorance is bliss, because ignorance so often leads to inaction, which is the opposite of what we need. But ultimately what I’m saying is, be aware of the world’s prejudices without letting them get the better of you. Fight like hell when it counts (push for diversity on your crews, coordinate structural change within the industry) but when you’re standing there on set, doing your job, YOU are the role. No matter how you identify, this is YOUR job. So if you need to, feel free to check yourself and tell your sexist/racist/prejudice inner saboteur to f*** right off. 

If you weren’t a Director, what would be your job? 

Thinking on this I’m clearly not a very well rounded person, as this is a super tricky question to answer! Having said that, I’ve racked my brain and do remember that there was a period in my life when I was working in a children’s bookshop. The opportunity came at a time when I wasn’t sure if I had what it takes to make it in film (although to be fair, does that feeling ever go away!?). It was such a calm, creative, and supportive environment to be in, and I found myself really gravitating towards picture books and graphic novels in a way that I never expected I would. After a while I started playing around with my own stories with picture books in mind as the end product, but it wasn’t long before I realised that I was essentially directing images on paper instead of films on screen. 

I think on a practical level though, if I wasn’t a director, I’d be an editor. I edit most of my own projects anyway, so it’s a skill I’d like to think that I’ve developed enough to live off if I needed to. However, if you’re asking, ‘what did 10 year old me want to be when I grew up?’, without hesitation the answer would be an archaeologist! 🕵🦕 

Photography courtesy of Emily Freda Sharp. You can follow Emily on @emilyfredasharp and view her work here https://emilyfredasharp.com