Emma V.F. (she/her) is an Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker based in New York City. As a director, producer and cinematographer, Emma pairs a rigorous sense of story with genuine care for her participants and collaborators. Her visual style emphasizes intimacy and flow in compositions with quiet intensity.
Emma's documentary short WATER COOLER features unprecedented access to ICE agents on the job at immigration court. The observational film premieres at the Dallas International Film Festival in April 2026.
Her feature debut, QUEEN OF NEW YORK, premiered as the New York Centerpiece film at NewFest 2023. The comedic documentary follows drag artist Marti Cummings in their groundbreaking run for New York City Council. The New York Daily News called the film "delightfully inspiring and eye-opening" and HuffPost said it offers "a poignant and meticulously researched look" at a queer campaign story that "feels especially relevant." It is streaming globally on Revry.
Emma is also the field producer for Raoul Peck's SILVER DOLLAR ROAD (Amazon Studios, TIFF 2023) and a co-producer of Caroline Suh and Cara Mones' SORRY/NOT SORRY (The New York Times, TIFF 2023). She was the U.S. field producer for Nanfu Wang's IN THE SAME BREATH (HBO, Sundance 2021, Peabody Award), co-producer for Blair Foster's TAKE YOUR PILLS: XANAX (Netflix), and co-producer for Cathryne Czubek's ONCE UPON A TIME IN UGANDA (The New York Times Critic's Pick, DOC NYC 2021 Grand Jury Prize Winner).
Before working in film, Emma was a director/producer at VICE News covering politics, gender and the environment. Emma graduated from Dartmouth College after serving as editor-in-chief of the daily student newspaper, The Dartmouth, and living abroad in Mexico and Peru. Her favorite animals are alpacas.
Say hi! emmaviewfinder [at] gmail [dot] com
Photo Credits: Top right by Mettie Ostrowski.
Bottom left by Cassandra Giraldo.
Homepage by Daniel Vergara.