Emma Stafki

Emma Stafki is a Pacific Northwest filmmaker, photographer, and environmental activist from Washington State. Since age 12, Emma has been making films alongside her sister Annie. They formed their own production company, Two Girls Take on the World, and have entered their work into multiple film festivals, winning awards, including a Grand Remi at WorldFest Houston. Emma graduated from Pacific Lutheran University, where she earned a degree in media and filmmaking. Her most celebrated work to date is Echos of the Sound, a 30-minute documentary she co-created with Annie. The film follows the story of Hugo, an orca captured in Vaughn Bay in 1968, an event her grandparents witnessed firsthand, and expands to highlight the critically endangered state of the Southern Resident orca pods living in the Salish Sea. Researched, shot, directed, and edited entirely by the sisters, the film went on to win over 10 awards. Emma's activism doesn't stop at filmmaking. Following the documentary's release, she and Annie began a daily cold-water plunge challenge in Puget Sound, documenting their swims on social media and mixing humor with education about the struggling orca population. As Emma put it, "Humor opens the door. Education leads to caring, and caring is what leads to action." Her aspirations extend beyond filmmaking; they are rooted in a desire to make a tangible difference in the world and to use storytelling as a vehicle for environmental change.