Emily Badescu

Emily Badescu is a British-Romanian director who began storytelling through installations, video, and sound art while studying at UAL. Upon graduating in 2016, Emily moved to Brighton, where she discovered both documentary filmmaking and skateboarding. Inspired by the skatepark’s intergenerational community, she started filming – and hasn’t stopped.

After a summer documenting skateparks in Texas, she trained with OTOXO Productions in Barcelona. Since then, she’s directed, produced, and edited award-winning documentaries and videos. Her credits include VICE, Netflix, BBC, AppleTV+, and The Guardian. A skilled editor, her work includes the SXSW-premiering Alien On Stage – described as “one of the funniest documentaries in years” (IndieWire) and “life-affirming” (Mark Kermode) – as well as edit consulting at Sheffield DocFest. Emily advocates for a more inclusive industry, using her skills to lead co-creative workshops with Rites for Girls and Rambert.

Though her career has grown beyond the skatepark, Emily stays connected to the global skateboarding community, carving out time to make work that blends academia, art, and kinaesthetic intelligence. With the support of the BAFTA/Piggot Award and Fulbright, Emily is pursuing an MFA in Experimental & Documentary Arts at Duke University, NC – an ideal opportunity to further explore participatory storytelling.

www.emilybadescu.com