We were lucky to catch up with Emily Friedman recently and have shared our conversation below.
Emily , first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
Imposter syndrome has definitely affected my confidence at times, but I’ve worked a lot on practicing acceptance. Lately it’s been less about overcoming any imposter feelings that arise, but acknowledging they’re there and realizing that I don’t actually have to give them any power over how I choose to live my life. Then it’s putting myself out there in the face of these feelings and claiming space anyway, without waiting for anyone’s permission. The more I’ve proven to myself that I’m capable of doing things in the face of my fear or nerves, the more my confidence has grown.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Right now, I’m focused on producing and directing narrative and documentary work with my production company happytobehere.
We’re currently in production on “Kings and Things” a feature-length documentary and also wrapped up production on two narrative short films. One is called “They’re Packing”, and follows a group of queer friends that go upstate for a weekend to learn how to shoot guns. The other is “Purple Patrol!” a silent film following a group of queer vigilantes that summon a protector to help unify the LGBTQIA+ community.
Apart from our narrative and documentary work, we’ve also done a few recent music videos and commercial projects, including campaigns for Soft Scrub, H&R Block, and Enfamil, which will be airing this year. Right now we’re in post on a music video for the artist QUESTA, which actually features me playing the synth! It was definitely a cool experience to get in front of the camera for the first time. My next big project is a comedic short film that I’ll be directing at some point over the summer.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I’d say patience, dedication, and resilience have been the most impactful qualities on my journey. There have been so many times when I’ve wanted to give up because I’ve felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere. Just learning to be patient and continuing to dedicate myself to my work and creativity without the guarantee of success has allowed my career to continue to grow. Also re-framing regrets and mistakes into learning opportunities rather than failures.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
Mindfulness and exercise. Meditating, practicing yoga, or going for a run so I can really clear my head and bring myself into the present moment. I also make sure to prioritize activities that aren’t work-related but just for me—like reading or painting or journaling—anything that feels meditative.
Sometimes when a lot of deadlines are hitting at once, there isn’t enough time to do my normal de-stressing routines. So I’ll try to prioritize just 5 minutes of relaxing, even if it’s just making a cup of tea (without looking at my phone or computer). Just giving myself a few minutes to reset.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://h2bh.film/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilyfriedman24
Image Credits
Neeraj Jain Samuel Broeren Nestor Pool Brooke Pelczynski Alexey Kosorukov
