Screenwriter / Director
EMMA
NEEDELL
THE WATER MAN premiered at TIFF 2020!!
"It's a tricky balancing act to take an audience from a terminally-ill mom to an avalanche of insects, but director David Oyelowo (working from Emma Needell's Black List screenplay) gets all the tones just right."
- Alonso Duralde, TheWrap
"An engaging for-kids ghost story whose fantasy elements are thoughtfully grounded by real-world concerns..."
- Peter Debruge, Variety
"An engaging family film with a light touch."
- John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter
PRESS
Click on the articles to be redirected to the original publication.
More reviews on ROTTEN TOMATOES.
BIO
I am a filmmaker who champions original storytelling. I'm drawn to stories that are "evil with a heart" — dark in theme, story, or tone, but always with a throughline of hope.
I grew up on a solar-powered cattle ranch in rural Colorado. I didn’t have cable television, but thanks to my cinephile parents, I had a robust collection of films to watch growing up — and it was through these films that I first discovered the larger world. After graduating from the Johns Hopkins University with a BA in Film, Spanish, and Environmental Studies, I moved to LA to make movies of my own.
When I was 24 years old, my breakout script, The Water Man, caught the attention of Oprah Winfrey and David Oyelowo, who came on to produce the project. The Water Man was featured on the 2015 Blacklist, and in 2019 was made into a feature-length film, with David Oyelowo directing. It had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2020.
I have since worked with Oscar-winning directors and producers, and on original projects in partnership with Netflix, Anonymous Content, MGM/Orion, Amblin, Apple, and Gaumont TV. Most recently, I was featured on the prestigious Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
