Meet Emily Aleece Burton | Filmmaker & Podcaster

We had the good fortune of connecting with Emily Aleece Burton and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Emily Aleece, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Looking back on everything I’ve accomplished in my life so far, risk and fully trusting myself has always been the main commonality. Even as far back as applying to film school. I only applied to one, UNC School of the Arts, and I got in. When I graduated in 2020, the last thing my mentor ever told me was to forgo the traditional path of becoming a filmmaker because I am not someone who waits for permission for someone else to create my art. I needed to take risks, do it myself, and create my own path. I thought he was insane and I just wasted $40,000 on an education. Five months later I wrote a short film titled “All We Were,” crowdfunded $3,000 in two months, and shot it over a weekend with some alumni in the middle of a pandemic. We’re submitting it to film festivals later this year.

When I moved to Los Angeles, I had no job and only a handful of connections. Everyone in the south asked me what was I going to do, but my answer stayed the same: I will figure it out. I knew it was a risk, but it was a risk I would regret not taking if I didn’t try. I would rather regret something I did than something I didn’t do and be stuck wondering what if? It’s the mantra that allows me to take risks and see what I’m capable of. Whether it’s filmmaking, podcasting, photography, I just refuse to tell myself no. I already know so many people I encounter are going to try to tell me no, so why would I say it to myself before they’ve even had the chance?

With risk comes a mix of total self-awareness where you completely trust and believe in yourself with a dash of mild insanity because everyone around you is going to think you’re crazy for even trying, but that’s the beauty of it. On the other side of risk is growth. It may feel daunting and uncomfortable, but that’s when you really find out who you are.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I like to believe everything I create revolves around women discovering themselves and stepping into their power and authentic self. Whether that’s through friendships with other women or a relationship at a pivotal moment in their life. Additionally, I really love love—not in a cheesy-Hallmark-movie kind of way, but the psychology of it. I find how people act in relationships to be extremely fascinating because how you behave in them is so closely linked to your early childhood. Most of us are just trying to rewrite a moment we never truly healed from, so when you add in ulterior goals and poor communication then you have a fantastic scene to work with.

One of the biggest challenges at first when it came to screenwriting was being unapologetically vulnerable on the page. I grew up acting and in theatre, so becoming someone else for the day was a relief sometimes. With writing, when I started writing about my own experiences and creating characters I could relate to, that’s when it got easier — frankly, it also got a lot better. Now, the main challenge is the discipline. I think a lot of artists, especially writers, face this issue at some point because it can be such a singular art. You have no one else to rely on, so you have to be able to show up and push yourself every single day, but make sure you’re always doing it for you. The only person I’m trying to impress is my eight-year-old self.

However, when it comes to podcasting, it’s a much a different journey. With my podcast, “The Gal’s Guide,” I am so thankful I have my co-host to rely on. With our show, we wanted to give women a more honest lens into dating and relationships. In order to do that, I’ve also had to be completely candid with my own dating life on the show and be vulnerable about the toxic cycles I’m still trying to break. We’ve been so proud to host some amazing influential women on the show who have been just as candid with us about their dating struggles. The community of “Gal Scouts” we have created around the show is what drives us to keep going. Even when the analytic numbers are low, when we receive that engagement from listeners who tell us our show makes their Monday morning commute better, then that’s a win for us.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
So you’re in town for a long weekend and because I am an amazing best friend, I will pick you up from LAX. I am not making you go through the mess that is the Uber/Lyft parking lot. You can thank me later by buying my a chai latte at my favorite coffee spot, Little Lunch in Venice. You’re probably jet lagged, so we can grabbed some pizza from Great White and catch up over wine. The next day we’re waking up early to grab breakfast at Beachwood Cafe and taking a hike through Griffith Park so you can see The Observatory. We’ll hit up LACMA & The Academy Museum. For dinner, we can do The Nice Guy and Melrose Umbrella for drinks. The next day, we’re heading to Venice & Santa Monica. You can pay me back for the airport pick up with coffee from Little Lunch and take a stroll down Abbot Kinney. We can chill out on the beach for a bit, but we’re heading over to Santa Monica for happy hour at the Santa Monica Proper hotel where we can take all the Insta-worthy pictures. After that, we can head to dinner at Blue Plate Oyster for oysters, lobster rolls, and a beautiful sunset. It’s your last full day in LA, we’re going to a food truck festival at The ROW in DTLA. We’ll stop by Noah’s Bagels on Larchmont before we make our way downtown. Maybe even stop by Angel City Brewery for some mid-day drinking, but not too much because we gotta save that energy for Employee’s Only and Deliah’s tonight. Will I drive you back to LAX tomorrow morning at 6am? Not a chance.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My parents, Theresa and Gray, have always been my biggest fans. No matter how many times I’ve changed my mind on what I’ve wanted to do, they have continued to be there every step of the way. I just hope I can repay them for it one day. My best friend and podcast co-host, Hannah Adams, who let me trick her into turning our relationship gossip sessions into a rapid growing dating and lifestyle podcast, “The Gal’s Guide.” She is my rock, my sounding board, my army, my person that will always be a character in every script that I write. Lastly, my mentor, Peter Werner, who has always believed in me even when I thought I was a fraud who didn’t deserve his praise. I’m not sure I would have created my film, let alone move to Los Angeles, if it wasn’t for him.

Website: thegalsguidepod.com

Instagram: @emilyaleece & @thegalsguidepod & @allwewerefilm

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyaleece

Twitter: @emilyaleece

Other: Listen to The Gal’s Guide on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-gals-guide/id1481145846 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4kwtoC1MJmFd2sBO3VUth5?si=7a21fb6be58a4fea

Image Credits
Chelsea Clayton Katherine Reeves Ben Trevey