Life and the Art of Lying
Writer / Director / Producer
Emily Schooley is an award-winning Canadian actor and emerging filmmaker who is known for blending genres and pushing boundaries in her work. She is the founder of Laughing Cat Productions, a Toronto-based production company that focuses on telling intelligent, women-driven stories.
Emily has worked extensively in independent stage and screen media, with projects ranging from small, intimate sets to large-scale feature productions. She is a proud associate member of the Toronto chapter of Film Fatales, and has appeared as as on-camera expert in several documentaries, including A Big Set of Lungs (examining the horror genre) and MeAfterToo (discussing the MeToo movement). In 2020, Emily was selected as one of just 100 Canadian women to take part in Banff Spark, an accelerator program for women in media.
The stories that Emily brings to stage and screen center around marginalized women’s experiences, as told through an intersectional feminist lens; common themes include physical and mental health, trauma, sexuality and gender identity, and the experience of being ‘other’. Emily’s last two short films that she wrote, directed, and produced – Psyche and Life and the Art of Lying – have both won awards and are now available to watch on VOD. Her work has screened internationally, including in the US, UK, Europe, Africa, and China.
Outside of her creative projects, Emily is an activist and animal enthusiast. She strongly supports gender equality and women escaping abusive situations, is an avid watchdog against police misconduct, and frequently speaks out for LGBTQ rights and equal representation in media. She also fosters rescue cats with Team Cat Rescue, an organization that focuses on saving animals from high-kill shelters.