Emma Seligman

Emma Seligman (born May 3, 1995) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. She is best known for the films Shiva Baby and Bottoms (2023).

Early life and education Seligman was born on May 3, 1995, in Toronto, Ontario, to a Jewish family. She and her sister were the youngest of their generation with a large extended family, so she went to lots of Jewish family functions growing up. She was raised in a Reform Ashkenazi community in Toronto and attended Northern Secondary School there. Her bat mitzvah ceremony was held on Masada in Israel; the party that followed, held in 2008, was filmmaker-themed. She grew up watching At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper wanting to "be Roger Ebert." As a teenager, Seligman ran a now-defunct blog called Confessions of a Teenage Film Buff and contributed film reviews to The Huffington Post, including a review for Spring Breakers, which she wrote at seventeen years old. She studied film at New York University Tisch School of the Arts, graduating in May 2017. She greatly values the friendships she made while studying there, saying that, "My connections with my peers ended up being so much more vital to my career progressing than connections to any bosses. I had a million internships, and none of them wanted to make my first movie." During her time at NYU Seligman briefly tried out being a sugar baby, going on one date before deciding it wasn't for her. This experience would later inspire her first feature film Shiva Baby. She moved to Los Angeles in early 2021.

Career While at NYU, she made short films including Lonewoods, Void, and her senior thesis film, Shiva Baby. During this time, Seligman also interned at a variety of production studios. She also served on the Toronto International Film Festival's select youth committee, where she helped program films for the festival.

Her thesis short film, Shiva Baby, was selected for 2018 South by Southwest film festival. The film follows Danielle as she attends a Shiva with both her ex-girlfriend and sugar daddy in attendance. During her time at NYU Seligman tried sugaring briefly, and has said of the experience that, "You have this sort of awakening of like, oh my God, I don't have any power in this world, but I do have my sexual power. And I think sugaring has allowed young women and young people to take hold of that to a higher degree," It was Sennott's unique style of comedy and knack for uncomfortable humor that transformed Shiva Baby into more of a comedy than the original short film's intense dramedy approach. Seligman also cited inspiration from the horror and thriller genres that helped to form the film's "claustrophobic look." Seligman says she finished the feature around half an hour before the festival was cancelled. The film eventually premiered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival.

Shiva Baby was met with critical acclaim. Kristy Puchko of The Playlist wrote, "It's astounding this is Seligman's first film, [considering] how masterfully she orchestrates the tension and comedy," and Dana Piccoli for Queer Media Matters praised that "while Seligman is still a relative newcomer to the film world, she handles Shiva Baby like an experienced pro." In 2022, the film won the John Cassavetes Award from Film Independent, at the time designated for productions with budgets of $500,000 or less. In an interview with The Upcoming in 2021 after the film's release, Seligman expressed her desire to continue to create complicated female characters and narratives, beyond the confines of being viewed as "messy," just as there are a plethora of complicated male characters on screen who are not given this designation. Bottoms was scored by English singer-songwriter Charli XCX. To promote Bottoms, Seligman appeared on the cover of New York Magazine with the films' stars Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri. The film headlined the SXSW film festival on March 11, 2023. Aisha Harris of NPR praised the film writing, "Sennott and Seligman strike both a sweet and an abrasive tone that's tricky to pull off, though they do so quite handily." Seligman drew inspiration for the film from a plethora of different movies. From '90s-2000s high-school comedies such as Bring It On, Mean Girls, and But I'm a Cheerleader to '60s and '70s Americana classics like Grease and American Graffiti. Seligman says the setting took inspiration from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The fight club element was inspired by movies like Kick-Ass and Scott Pilgrim vs the World, where the protagonists go on a hero's journey to get the girl. Seligman briefly moved to Los Angeles in 2021, but resides in Bushwick as of 2023. She has expressed support for Palestinians as well as dismay at the rise of antisemitic violence.

Being Ashkenazi, she is very invested in her Jewish faith and has said if she ever did switch careers she would likely become a rabbi.

Denver Film Festival American Independent Award

Filmmaker Magazine 25 New Faces of Indie Film 2020

Miami International Film Festival Jordan Ressler First Feature Award

Outfest Best Screenwriting

Out on Film Best First Film

TIFF Critics Poll Best Screenplay

The Braddies Best Debut

Chicago Film Critics Association Milos Stehlik Breakthrough Filmmaker Award

Detroit Film Critics Society Breakthrough

Florida Film Critics Circle Awards Best First Film

Gotham Independent Film Awards Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award

Best Filmmaker

Best Screenplay IndieWire Critics Poll Best First Feature

The Jewish Week 36 Under 36

The New York Times Best Directing (Comedy)

The ReFrame Stamp Narrative Feature

Best New Director

Best Adapted Screenplay Austin Film Critics Association Best First Film

Chlotrudis Society for Independent Films Best Original Screenplay

Directors Guild of America Awards Outstanding Directing – First-Time Feature Film

DiscussingFilm Critics Awards Best Debut Feature

Independent Spirit Awards John Cassavetes Award

Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Debut Feature

Toronto Film Critics Association Best First Feature

Indiana Film Journalists Association Best Original Screenplay

Sidewalk Film Festival Sidewalk Programmer's Feature Film Award Won SXSW Headliners Nominated

Independent Spirit Awards

Campy Flick of the Year Nominated LGBT Screenplay of the Year Nominated Critics Choice Awards Best Comedy Nominated GLAAD Media Awards Outstanding Film - Wide Theatrical Release Won