Emily Kuester

Transracial adoptee Emily Kuester grew up telling stories in her rural Wisconsin town. Now a filmmaker in Atlanta, Emily is dedicated to telling stories about adoption, identity and lifting the voices of those who go unheard.
Emily got her start in Milwaukee, WI, producing short and long form documentaries, virtual reality experiences (2019 Sundance VR experience, “Ashe 68”), podcasts, and mobile apps. Most recently, Emily directed her first feature documentary, “Messwood” with 371 Productions and Participant Media, which had its world premier at DOC NYC 2021. She is the co-creator of the fiction series Black Girl Training, which won the first annual Keep It Colorful campaign with Seed and Spark and is now being executive produced by Mary Ann Marino. Emily was also a facilitator at the 2018 Mozilla Festival in London and was on a 2019 SXSW panel for a new WebVR experience, The Colored Girls Museum. Her career started in 2014 with a full ride to the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee’s Film Program where she served as the first Black woman to be elected as student body president.
Awards / Accolades
2021 | Editor, Mentor - Black Girls Film Camp, Urban Education Collaborative in partnership with UNCC Film Studies Department
2021 | Emerge Mentor - Re:image ATL Fellowship Program
2020 | Panelist - Black Women: Behind the Lens, MKE Film Festival - 2020 Black History Month program
2019 | Panelist - Art, Race & Open Web VR: The Colored Girls Museum, SXSW
2019 | Panelist - Art, Race & Open Web VR: The Colored Girls Museum, Mozilla's MozFest
2018 | Winner - Keep It Colorful, Seed & Spark Crowdfunding Campaign
2018 | Virtual Reality Room Coordinator - Black Media Story Summit, Black Public Media
2018 | Greater Milwaukee Foundation Fellow - The Artist As a Problem Solver: Annual Joyce Awards Summit