Emily Schooley

Emily Schooley is an award-winning actor, filmmaker, voiceover artist, and writer who hasn’t had time to be bored since the late ‘90s. While Tkaronto is her current home base, she creates and tours work throughout North America and internationally.

Her films have screened at festivals across North and South America, the UK, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Her 26-minute sapphic short “Life and the Art of Lying” won multiple festival awards including Best LGBT Short (Toronto Short Film Festival 2018) and multiple Audience Choice nominations. It also received acknowledgement from the Swedish institute ValueCine for significantly surpassing gender norms on-screen, with over 90% of total screentime and dialogue going to women. Emily's most recent film "The Sweetest Goodbye" has received a record seven awards and nominations thus far in its festival run, including wins for Best International Actress, Best International Film, and a Special Jury Award (Dona Nenem Trailblazing Women of Film), with nominations for Best Original Score, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Drama.

To date, Emily’s films have been recognized and supported by organizations such as Panavision, Sunbelt Rentals (formerly William F. White), Canada Council for the Arts, and Ontario Creates. She has participated in accelerators, masterclasses, and talent incubators with organizations including the Canadian Film Centre, Banff Spark, the Disability Screen Office, TMU’s Transmedia and Social Ventures zones, and WIFT Toronto.

Emily is also the founder of Laughing Cat Productions, an emerging Toronto-based production company that creates bold, intersectionally inclusive, and forward-thinking women-led stories across a variety of genres and formats.

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NOTE: Winter/Spring 2025 update: I am currently available for hire as an actor, voiceover artist, or director.

My producing work is generally limited to my own creative projects, and other projects where I am already attached as a lead/principal actor or other key creative role.

The best place to keep up with my latest news and exclusive behind the scenes content is by joining my community of cool cats over on Patreon: patreon dot com / emilyschooley