Araceli Lemos

Araceli Lemos is a director, writer and editor born in Athens and currently based in Los Angeles. She holds an M.F.A. in Film Directing from CalArts and a B.A. in Economic Science. Araceli has worked as a documentary film editor on award winning features and on the Emmy-awarded KCET docu-series LostLA. Her short film, MIGUEL ALVAREZ WEARS A WIG, has screened at several festivals worldwide, including Tampere, Outfest and Leeds. HOLY EMY is her debut feature.

Director’s statement

“The story of the film is highly personal for me, stemming from childhood memories of when various healers came to our house to try and cure my mother’s, and family friends’, ailments.
My interest in the Filipino community came later when I discovered the rich tradition of healers in the Philippines. [...] The film was my ticket into that world and for many years while researching this project, I began spending Sundays at the churches, singing and eating with the community, feeling very welcomed.
I was embraced by the Filipino community in Athens from the beginning while making this film. Most of the participants in the scenes were employed full-time, many as live-in caretakers or cleaners but they made time for the many auditions, rehearsals, wardrobe fittings, etc. that were required. Many had to fight with their employers in order to be allowed to participate in the filmmaking process, they felt it was very important and I was moved by their dedication and trust.
[...] One of the first images I envisioned for the movie was Teresa praying in agony, to a God who may or may not be listening, while feeling terrified of Emy who lays in bed beside her. The film deals with our fear of the supernatural, but also with the terror of facing people or things we don't understand.
I am also of course intrigued by women - healers who are seen as witches or as saints in different environments. I am filled with hope and cynicism around this world of healers, of miracles, of unseen energies, of believers. The film is viewed differently depending on where you come from and your own religious beliefs or superstitions. This story lives in dialogue with many beliefs, but I didn't want to classify Emy. My own thoughts and questions are expressed by many characters in the film.
I would like audiences to question what may be true or untrue in the film, and to feel unsure about what is magical, supernatural, placebo, or superstition.
The core of the film is the co-dependent relationship of the two sisters, Emy and Teresa. I want the audience to be pushed and pulled by both of them. To love them and hate them, to root for them but also to be terrified of them. By the end of the movie, I want the audience to feel the freeing sense of Emy cutting the umbilical cord with Teresa and the pain that comes with it -- to share the girls’ inevitable pain of growing up and embracing their chosen path.”