Norwich-based Creativity Coach Emma Wyatt has been shortlisted for Film Festival Guild’s Lottie List, with her screenplay The Dancing Lion. Here, Emma explains how the original story was inspired by her young son.
A story about a young lion cub with a passion for dancing has led Norwich-based Creativity Coach Emma Wyatt to be on the Lottie List, the Film Festival Guild’s list of projects up for the title of Best Unproduced Screenplay on Saturday. The Dancing Lion was originally inspired by Emma’s son, as she explains: “Sixteen years ago I wrote it for Joel, my son, who was 3 or 4 at the time. I was just observing him being so playful/joyful and being his own person and I wanted him to be like that for the rest of his life but was aware that the pressures of society can wear away at you. So, I wrote this story about a dancing lion who loved to dance but was ostracised by the pride because lions don’t dance and so he was out in the wilderness (he was a he at the time but I changed it to a she).”
The young cub with a passion for movement must choose between conformity and her calling, and discovers her greatest strength lies in the very thing that made her an outcast. “I wrote it as a story and it’s available on Amazon – Joel was suitably chuffed.”
It then occurred to Emma that she could go further with it. “I studied film at university. I’ve always been into films and making films and I thought that this would be a great animated film, so last year I wrote it into a screenplay and sent it out. They contacted me to say you’ve been selected for The Lottie List and there are 20 of us in the running.
Emma says: “Even if it doesn’t win, the fact you’ve got that exposure has to be a good thing. I get to go to London; it’s going to be a big event.”
It is her first screenplay but it doesn’t sound as thought it’s going to be her last. “I’m writing another screenplay at the moment – a feature- length one which is about a nun at the time of the dissolution who is building a new life – or trying to.”
Emma writes when she has time outside of the “day job”, which is Founder and Creativity Coach for The Second Act Studio. Emma set up the business last summer to help people in their 40s, 50s and beyond unlock their creative potential and design a bold second act. “It is particularly targeting people in midlife who have done the child rearing, done the career, maybe got divorced and are thinking ‘I need to centre me in my own life and what does that life look like in my second act?’”
Prior to setting it up Emma was running her own corporate improv business. “I do use improv in my coaching as well, if people want it – I don’t force them as it can be quite intimidating but for some people it’s very effective to get your creative juices flowing.
“Improv can be an incredibly effective tool to help you rediscover your playfulness. I actually qualified as a life coach in December 2024 and didn’t do anything with it for a while as I didn’t want to be a general life coach. I was trying to find out what my particular niche would be and my past experience and own interests came together with this idea.”
Emma creates playful, structured, in-person and online coaching experiences that blend vision, courage, and action. Initially she aimed The Second Act Studio at empowering women to reinvent life, as she says: “So many women de-centre themselves throughout their lives – it is very hard to suddenly put themselves centre.”
Emma explains how The Second Act Studio works: “You would have an introductory session and generally I would recommend 8 hour-long sessions to get to a point where you can launch your second act, but people can stay as long or as little as they like.” The feedback has been positive so far. “People are saying they feel less anxious and more fulfilled.
“I’ve dealt with anxiety and it’s debilitating. It’s an anxious world – there are valid reasons to be anxious – but I find that when I’m writing that all goes away and it’s hard to describe the serenity that descends.”
So how is Emma’s ‘second act’ going? “It’s looking interesting. It’s certainly been a rollercoaster because I left a well-paid university job five years ago because it was not serving me and I struggled with money. But I had to do it to explore what would give me fulfilment – and to rediscover the writing.” Being named on The Lottie List has been a major boost: “It has given me a big motivation to carry on and know that I must be alright at it.”
The British Animation Film Festival takes place in London on Saturday April 4, 2026. Visit Lottie List – Film Festival Guild. Also, visit The Second Act Studio. The Dancing Lion by Wyatt, Emma is available on Amazon.
Featured image of Emma Wyatt – supplied
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