Special Event: Finding Emily followed by a Q&A with the director Alicia MacDonald

Event details

23-year-old Owen works as a sound engineer in a student union bar in Manchester. One night he meets a girl named Emily and they immediately hit it off before she's dragged away to the next bar by her friends. Before she leaves, Emily gives Owen her phone number, but when he attempts to text her the next day, he realises with despair that it's missing a digit. Undeterred by his older brother's mockery and suggestion that she may have given him a fake number deliberately Owen sets about trying to track her down, convinced that she wants a second date as much as he does. Meanwhile, third-year Psychology student Emily Raine a different Emily to the one Owen is searching for discovers what he's up to after a chance encounter and decides to make him the case study for her dissertation, unbeknownst to Owen. ‘Finding Emily' is a feel-good romantic comedy with a fresh, contemporary angle for the next generation of viewers.

Speaker

Alicia MacDonald is a British director whose work spans film and television. She has directed episodes of acclaimed series including The Outlaws, Sisters, Flack and Netflix's Too Much, as well as short films and commercials. In 2026, she made her feature-film debut with Finding Emily, a Manchester-set romantic comedy starring Angourie Rice, Spike Fearn and Minnie Driver, produced by Working Title Films.

This careers event introduces young people to screen industry careers.

• Young people will hear from industry professionals and take part in a careers-focused activity, such as a talk, discussion, workshop, panel or Q&A session. 
• Young people will be supported to make the most of the experience, reflect on what they learn and consider next steps. 
• Supports careers education across the UK, including Gatsby Benchmark 5: Encounters with Employers and Employees. 

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