Born and raised in Ecuador, Emilia grew up surrounded by painting — her family has deep roots in the fine arts. She studied Art Direction for Cinema at FUC (Universidad del Cine) in Buenos Aires and Scenography and Visual Arts at IUNA, Instituto Nacional de Arte.
A painter first, Emilia approaches every set as a canvas. Color is her strongest tool: she builds palettes with intention, so every wall, fabric and prop works together in front of the camera.
She is also a builder. Emilia designs and constructs sets from scratch, including working mechanisms and large practical structures: a functional wooden bridge with pulleys over a waterfall for Irish Spring’s Super Bowl spot, and the full interior of a submarine for the feature film Sumergible. When a world doesn’t exist, she builds it — and makes it work.
With over 20 years in film and advertising — first as an art director and later as a production designer — Emilia has designed hundreds of commercials, music videos and several feature and short films. She has collaborated with directors such as Max Malin, Dave Meyers and Marc Forster, and with brands including Coca-Cola, Ralph Lauren, Apple and Amazon. Her work has earned Colibrí Awards for Best Production Design (2020 and 2022), and in 2024 she served as Head Judge for Casting, Production & Styling at the shots Awards The Americas.
Based in Mexico City, Emilia works locally and internationally, in Spanish and English.