Artist Bio

Max Van Loan (they/them) (formerly Emily/Em) is an experimental filmmaker based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. With their work, Max cultivates a physical relationship with a film medium that reflects intimate personal spaces containing trauma, queerness, and play. Their work has screened in festivals and galleries internationally including Ithaca Experimental Film Festival, Winnipeg Underground Film Festival, Ribalta Experimental Film Festival, Transient Visions: Festival of the Moving Image, Microscope Gallery (NYC), Union Hall Denver and Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. They have been the recipient of awards including a Grilled Cheese Grant (2025), King Award (2021) and Ken Jacobs Award (2016). Max has taught courses in experimental filmmaking and video art at University of Colorado Boulder and Colorado State University.

You can reach them at emvanloan@gmail.com.

Artist Statement

I make analog films by hand because using my body as a tool is necessary to dance with my emotions. My work complicates our collective understanding of cinema, of trauma, of the propriety of public disclosure. I am a messy filmmaker because I make real films about my real life.