Emanuel was born in San Francisco, California and grew up in both Japan and the United States.

[1] Emanuel attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles with an emphasis in film studies, international relations, and Japanese.

[citation needed] Emanuel's first films were shorts, including Her Knight (2003) and Girl with Gun (2006).

[2][3] In 2007, Emanuel produced his first feature film, P.J..[4] Emanuel subsequently directed the feature film Chasing the Green (2009),[5][6] starring William Devane, and The Legends of Nethiah (2012) starring John Heard and Robert Picardo.

[7][8] Emanuel directed and produced the documentary film Restoration of Paradise (2014), about the history of the Bolsa Chica wetlands, which has at different times been a Native American settlement, President Teddy Roosevelt's Gun Club, and a World War II home for artillery batteries.