By Julie D’Aloiso
I first met Russell Emanuel in November 2015 when I interviewed him for my internet radio show. We talked about his movie “Occupants.” A friend, Alan Courtright, who had a voice part in the movie, told me “you have to interview this LA director!” We just talked on the phone then, but over the years we have been able to meet in person.
Emanuel, originally from San Francisco but who grew up in both Japan and the United States, graduated from the University of Southern California with degrees in Cinema-Television, International Relations and Japanese before founding Russem Productions in 2002.
Over the years we have discussed doing my “The Dollhouse” movie. We attempted it years ago but lacked the required funding. We are still talking about doing the movie and there is again a renewed push with an Alaskan connection – who knows what will happen. I have even traveled to Columbus to accept awards for him. What an honor to do this for him and also an honor to know him personally.
Award-winning filmmaker Russ Emanuel has been inducted into the Indie Filmmaker Hall of Fame, marking the first time he has received recognition for his entire filmmaking career rather than individual projects. The honor comes as Emanuel has also secured a distribution deal for his latest horror-comedy “Staycation,” which will be retitled “Apocalypse Death Party” for its October 2025 release (EST/DTO/TVOD/VOD/DVD release on Oct. 6, with SVOD/AVOD platforms following on Oct. 31).
The film will be distributed by Deskpop Entertainment, a subsidiary of Twin Engines Global, the same company releasing the trending 2025 “Steamboat Willie” inspired horror film “Screamboat” in April. Sales agent Savant Artists helped facilitate the distribution agreement.
Emanuel describes the Hall of Fame recognition as particularly meaningful since it celebrates his entire body of work rather than a single project.
Emanuel has an impressive track record with documented wins and nominations across his six feature films. His breakthrough film “Occupants” (2015) alone earned more than 183 wins and 137 nominations with over 70 festival acceptances globally, making it one of the most awarded independent sci-fi films of the 2010s.
His films have received major recognition including Best Sci-Fi Feature Film at Shriekfest (Los Angeles’ longest-running horror festival), Official Selection at San Diego Comic-Con, Best Director at Florida Supercon Film Festival and Las Cruces International Film Festival, Best Comedy at Shockfest, and numerous international awards spanning North America, Europe, Asia, South America and Oceania.
Emanuel has directed six feature films including “P.J.” (2007), “Chasing the Green” (2009), “The Legends of Nethiah” (2012), “Occupants” (2015), “Wisper” (2020), and “Staycation” (2024). His early short film “Girl with Gun” (2006) earned the Bronze Telly Award at the 27th Annual Telly Awards for Best Entertainment.
Emanuel is included in “The Top 100 Indie Filmmakers In The World Part 1” book by Del Weston, Theresa Weston & Nabi Zee, selected from over 15,000 filmmakers worldwide. His IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/name/
Throughout his career, Emanuel has directed notable actors including John Heard, Robert Picardo, Vincent Pastore, Glynnis O’Connor, Hallie Kate Eisenberg, Jeremy London, Ryan Hurst, William Devane, Marina Sirtis, Sean Kenney, Armin Shimerman, Olivia d’Abo, and Gary Graham.
“Staycation” is described as part weird comedy and part zombie movie that serves as a sort of prequel to Emanuel’s short film “Routine” and offers social commentary on the COVID-19 pandemic through a horror genre lens.
Emanuel continues to work on new projects including “The Dollhouse” and the recently completed script for “Staycation 2” from his base in Huntington Beach, California, maintaining his reputation as one of the most prolific independent filmmakers in the industry. You can see more of his works at his Russem Productions website (https://russem.com/).
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