Burcu Emeç is a queer Kurdish artist, intimacy coordinator (film/tv), and intimacy director (live performance) based in Tkarón:to/“Toronto”. She started her career as an actor and works seamlessly across live performance and cinema as a creator, performer, and intimacy professional.

Burcu’s theatre and live art practice focuses on narrative beyond text and spatial and visual dramaturgy. She frequently weaves social commentary with images and explores the spaces between “performativity” and “non-acting.” Her theatre/live art work has found its place in varying venues like theatres, galleries, and parks, and has received support from performance companies and festivals like Festival TransAmériques (FTA), La SERRE-arts vivants, MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels), SummerWorks, Playwrights Workshop Montreal, and Public Recordings. She has received several awards including the Mécènes investis pour les arts, OFFTA Hybridity Award, and five META nominations.

Throughout her artistic journey, Burcu has been interested in the way artists collaborate and how it impacts their work. This interest led her to work at Articule, one of Canada’s oldest artist-run centres, where she played a pivotal role in facilitating anti-harassment and anti-racist advocacy initiatives.

This advocacy thread continues in Burcu's current work as an intimacy professional for stage and screen, where she provides a consent-forward and movement based framework to tell stories that involve nudity, intimacy, or sensitive content. Certified by SAG-AFTRA accredited IDC - Intimacy Directors and Coordinators (U.S.) and Intimacy Coordinators Canada, Burcu has worked for A24, CBS, Lionsgate, and Warner Bros., amongst others. She received training from leading professionals such as HBO’s Lead Intimacy Coordinator Alicia Rodis (The Deuce, Insecure, High Maintenance), the first to be hired by a major network, and Claire Warden, the first intimacy director on Broadway. Drawing from her rich experiences on camera and onstage, Burcu brings over 15 years of diverse storytelling and a robust background in movement to support actors and directors alike. Burcu has a complimentary background as an active listener, which enriches her work. Her approach is rooted in a queer, anti-racist, and sex-positive framework, striving to cultivate a supportive and empowering environment for every member of the team.


See this page for more on what an intimacy coordinator does.

IMDB
Photo by Phanie Éthier



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