March, 2026.- In an advertising landscape that often leans too heavily on realism, Emily Elizabeth Thomas stands out as a world-builder. With her recent signing to Late Shift, the Texas-born director brings a distinct authorial voice she describes as “punk-feminine”: a mix of defiance, risk-taking, and an aesthetic where glossy surfaces always hide something wonderfully strange. Following the cult success of her series Keily and her feature debut Keily: Homecoming Dweeb, Emily applies the discipline of genre filmmaking to campaigns for giants like Disney, Maybelline, and Garnier. Her approach isn’t that of a director who simply “executes,” but that of a writer-director who injects narrative stakes, emotional resonance, and a “female gaze” that celebrates softness as strength and imperfection as a human truth.
In this exclusive interview with Roastbrief, Emily Elizabeth Thomas breaks down how her theatrical background and entrepreneurial spirit lead her to reject strict realism in favor of theatricality and visual whimsy. She explains her process for directing icons like Sarah Michelle Gellar and Martha Stewart, built on trust and high-energy collaboration, and how she treats 30 or 60-second commercials as canvases for absolute precision. For Emily, commercial filmmaking is an extension of her narrative muscles where every detail—from lenses to makeup—must tell a story. Discover how this filmmaker is challenging traditional codes of femininity on screen, proving that in 2026, true innovation lies in the courage to be different and in building worlds where women are, at last, whole human beings.
1. The Late Shift Signing: You’ve joined Late Shift after previous representation with ArtClass and Sibling Rivalry. What drew you to Late Shift at this moment in your career, and how does their approach to talent and storytelling align with your creative Ambitions?
I’m at a really exciting moment in my career. I made my feature debut as a writer/director last year, which sharpened my focus around what I want the next phase of my movie making journey to look like, including the work I want to do in the commercial space. I am very proud of my strong authorial voice. I don’t blend in, and neither does my work. I build highly stylized worlds, and implore practical effects, camp, whimsy, and unique cross-genre tones. I swing for the fences! I need a production company partner that’s ready to fight for those opportunities to build bold, carefully crafted worlds that are the cornerstone of what I do. My first impression of Late Shift is that they do not phone anything in, and they are constantly figuring out new ways to be innovative in their approach. That was very exciting to me, and felt like a culture I could get excited about being part of. I’m excited to see what we create together.
2. Punk-Feminine Storytelling: You’re described as bringing a “punk-feminine perspective”; to your work. What does that mean to you creatively, and how does it manifest in your approach to production design, tone, and the characters you build on Screen?
A punk spirit, this instinct for defiance, has been part of my creative DNA my entire life. I’m from Texas, and I was raised by a family of entrepreneurs who had big dreams but few resources. They had to get creative, make their own rules, and take real risks to build something from nothing. That ethos is a big part of my creative DNA.
Visually and tonally, my punk spirit shows up in the worlds I build. I’m drawn to heightened environments – places that feel like our reality, but pushed just far enough into imagination that something feels slightly subversive. Beautiful, glossy surfaces where something a little strange is happening underneath. I’m not particularly interested in strict realism. I like theatrics. I’m a theatre kid in that way. I like worlds with strong visual identities, where production design, wardrobe, and tone feel intentional, expressive, a little unruly. That tension between beauty and disruption can feel very punk. In many ways, I want the worlds I build to feel like stepping into a modern fairy tale.
Femininity is the space I’m always creating from, because it’s my experience of the world. My expression of femininity, and my experience of womanhood, is deeply creative. Being a woman in this world can be profoundly difficult, but it’s also the most beautiful thing ever. That tension is incredibly generative for me, and a space I’m constantly mining inspiration from.
3. From Keily to Commercials: Your web series Keily developed a cult following and led to your feature debut Keily: Homecoming Dweeb, premiering at the historic Saban Theatre. How does your independent narrative work inform your commercial directing, and vice versa? What do each feed into the other?
My narrative work absolutely informs my commercial directing, and vice versa. They’re fueled by the same engine: my instincts as a screenwriter and my sensibilities as a fantastical world builder and genre filmmaker.
Coming from narrative filmmaking, I always begin with story. What I often impress upon brands is that they’re hiring a writer/director. It’s impossible for me to leave my identity as a screenwriter behind. That doesn’t mean I’m altering the copy or the core brand identity, but it does mean I’m coming to the table thinking about narrative mechanisms – character, stakes, tone – and how to build a world around the product that feels alive. I’m always looking for ways to embolden the story the brand is trying to tell.
What I love about commercial filmmaking is how exacting you have to be. It’s cut throat, which I find fun! When you only have 30 or 60 seconds to tell a story, you develop a strong instinct for clarity – what actually matters in a moment, what the audience needs to feel, and how quickly you can get them there. That discipline definitely makes my long-form storytelling sharper.
I think of my feature filmmaking and my commercial storytelling as different uses of the same muscles. I have an intricate tool belt of colors, textures, feelings, and techniques at my disposal, and it’s really about choosing which ones to activate depending on the format. The storytelling engine is the same. The only thing that changes is the canvas and the clock.
4. Softness as Strength: You’ve spoken about challenging traditional ideas of femininity while “celebrating softness as strength”; How do you bring that philosophy into campaigns for major brands like Maybelline, Garnier, or Disney, where there might be established brand codes to navigate?
I do challenge traditional ideas of femininity in my work. In fact, it’s often the litmus test I use when deciding whether to say yes or no to a project: does this story represent a vision of a world where women are whole people? It’s a simple but powerful filter. Women deserve the full spectrum of humanity on screen, and that means sometimes they aren’t perfectly behaved, or even particularly likeable. I’m interested in female characters who take up space, make messes, and refuse to flatten themselves into something socially digestible. That philosophy applies to the movies I write and direct, and to my branded storytelling as well.
I possess a female gaze, which means my work, the stories I tell and the worlds I build, are made in the image of that gaze. That is not something I’m afraid of. In fact, I think it’s incredibly interesting, because it’s rare. In a world, and an industry, where most things are becoming one and the same, it’s actually really radical to be positioning stories through the gaze of the other. It means that my work can actually bring new emotional textures and ways of seeing into the art of storytelling. This can be, and should be, incredibly powerful to brands. It’s an opportunity to reach audiences in a different way than they have historically done. My job is really to stay true to my voice and continue sharpening my craft. When that voice aligns with a brand’s vision, the result can be something genuinely exciting.
5. Working with Talent: You’ve directed celebrities including Sarah Michelle Gellar and Martha Stewart. How do you approach directing talent—especially established personalities—to bring authenticity and emotional precision to a commercial Performance?
I truly, deeply love actors. I’ve studied the craft of acting, not because I plan to be in front of the camera (though never say never), but because I want to develop a common language with performers and understand their needs better.
To be a true actor’s director, you have to be an adept observationalist. It’s not about delivering a smart note about the story, or trying to mine something out of a performer. It’s about recognizing what they are naturally bringing – both as an actor and as a person – and putting that to work in service of the movie. Every actor has their own pocket of the universe they’ve carved out for themselves, their own process. Your job is to create an environment of trust, where they feel comfortable revealing it to you. And then, well, you use it. In a kind way, of course.
You also just have to get actors genuinely excited! The more you energize performers, the more they will point their instrument toward your vision. I’m known for very excitedly getting in the mix with actors. I’ll perform blocking with them, adjust lines on the spot, and explore different ways into a beat. I’m always looking for another layer, another pathway into the performance.
When it comes to working with celebrities, I approach them the same way I would any great actor: with respect for the craft and for the experience they bring. They’re seasoned professionals with a deep well of knowledge. My job is to listen, engage, and create an environment where that expertise can flourish. Leave whatever assumptions you have about them at the door, be open to their ideas, gracious and adaptive to their time constraints, and above all don’t waste their time. Fix it in prep!!
6. World-Building in 60 Seconds: Commercials require you to build entire worlds in a fraction of the time you have in narrative work. What’s your process for establishing tone, character, and emotional stakes in 30 or 60 seconds without losing the “whimsy and emotional clarity” you’re known for?
A lot of tone comes from the creative spirit of the director. It’s why certain projects are the perfect fit for certain filmmakers. My creative spirit is deeply craft-driven, rooted in a lifelong reverence for this art form, shaped by my experiences as a woman in the world, and also, very playful. I’ve always been protective of my creative spark, which is full of curiosity and child-like wonder. That sense of play is where a lot of the whimsy in my work comes from.
In the commercial format, the key is precision. When you only have 30 or 60 seconds, every choice has to do a tremendous amount of storytelling work. Tone, character, and emotion all have to be embedded in the details from the first frame. That means excavating every single detail in prep, and arriving on set with a clear execution plan. I’m always overprepared, which actually means I have a lot of creative freedom on the day.
Taking the vision from job award, through prep, into production is about leadership and focused collaboration. My hands don’t build the worlds that come out of my mind alone. I have enormous respect for the department heads and crews I work with, and I’m highly involved across departments. Everyone receives a detailed creative deck and we dig in together: lenses, camera movement, composition, texture, scale, fabrics, silhouettes, makeup, performance references, you name it. Every piece matters in the grand design of the world.
When every facet is aligned creatively, you can build a brand new world pretty quickly.
