Emma Francisco

Emma Francisco is a San Diego based film creative producer who has been working on local and international co-productions since 2003. She believes in the power of cinema and the importance of global creative collaborations. She directed and produced her first documentary short film Hello, My Name is Charmin. The film became part of an ethnic studies class at the University of San Francisco and had its limited screenings around the Bay Area. Emma soon started working as one of the cinematographers of Benito Bautista's feature documentary The Gift of Barong which won Best in Cinematography at the New York Int'l Independent Film & Video Fest. Emma also served as the script consultant and assistant director for the award-winning documentary Harana: the Search for the Lost Art of Serenade by the same director. She went on to produce two of Benito's feature narratives, Boundary and Mumbai Love, and the short film The Interpreter. Boundary is an award-winning crime thriller shot in Manila. Mumbai Love is a cross-cultural romantic comedy shot in Mumbai and Manila and had its nationwide theatrical release in the Philippines. The Interpreter is a crime romance based on true events and was shot in Tokyo. The film is now in competition at San Diego Film Awards with 10 nominations including Best Film. Emma is currently producing two feature documentaries entitled Labeled: The Road to Sydney (working title) by Benito Bautista and A is for Agustin by Grace Simbulan. Emma is the co-founder and programming director of the non-profit organization San Diego Filipino Cinema. SDFC's mission is to develop and nurture global Filipino filmmakers and showcase their work in San Diego, California.