Amy Sewell

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Amy Sewell
Born April 23, 1963 (1963-04-23) (age 45)
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Occupation filmmaker, director, writer, producer

Amy Sewell (born 1963) is an American author and filmmaker, best known for Mad Hot Ballroom (Paramount, 2005), in which she debuted as a film writer and producer.

Sewell is also the founder/director of a nonprofit organization, Give It Up for the ARTS, whose main mission is to help kids get exposure to the arts.

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[edit] Early career

Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1963, Sewell grew up in suburban Chicago and Detroit. She earned a degree in marketing and communications from the University of Michigan in 1981. After working in public relations for several years, Sewell enrolled in Schiller International University in Paris, France where she studied business administration. Armed with an MBA, Sewell moved to New York in 1989.

Sewell spent 15 years as a marketing executive in the publishing industry in New York City, after which she decided to leave corporate America and spend more time at home with her twin daughters. Following a short stint as a stay-at-home mom, Sewell soon re-entered the workplace as a writer, reporting local stories for her neighborhood newspaper, the Tribeca Trib, in lower Manhattan. [1] In July of 2003, following the publication of a feature story in the Tribeca Trib about New York City public school children studying ballroom dance, Sewell joined forces with film producer Marilyn Agrelo, to turn her story into the hit documentary Mad Hot Ballroom.

[edit] Films

Mad Hot Ballroom
Sewell’s received acclaim for her debut film, Mad Hot Ballroom. Based on a feature article written by Sewell, Mad Hot Ballroom looks inside the lives of eleven-year-old New York City public school kids who journey into the world of ballroom dancing and reveal pieces of themselves along the way. Told from the students' perspectives, the film highlights the cultural diversity that is the soul of New York City as the children strive toward the final citywide competition.
what’s your point, honey?
Sewell’s latest documentary, in which she partners with filmmaker Susan Toffler, puts a new face on political leadership by introducing seven possible presidential contenders coming down the pipeline, while revealing inequalities that still exist today. Defining where women stand now and more importantly, how what happens today shapes what will happen tomorrow, the movie takes a (sometimes whimsical) look at gender issues in America. Portraits are painted of seven possible future leaders, the 2024 girls, underscoring one of the main themes of the film that it is not about one woman candidate running, but hopefully many someday.[neutrality disputed]

[edit] Awards

Awards bestowed upon Mad Hot Ballroom include: [2]

[edit] Published work

Sewell’s books include:

  • The Mad Hot Adventures of a Documentary Filmmaker (Hyperion 2007)
  • She’s Out There! The Next Generation of Presidential Candidates (2008)

Sewell’s short stories and screenplays include:

  • Coming Up Seven (1993)
  • Double Knots (1993)
  • Collection of Short Stories: 1976 - present
  • The Coffee Club (Screenplay; WGA#068612-00; 1992)

Sewell has also contributed the following articles:

  • Their Personal Best (The Tribeca Trib, April 2007)
  • Reading, Writing and Rumba (The Tribeca Trib, July 2003)
  • Kindergarten Parent Volunteer Olympics (The Tribeca Trib, June 2003)
  • In These Times, Mom's Role Is Warrior, Too (The Tribeca Trib, April 2003)
  • Big Ideas (The Tribeca Trib, March 2003)
  • SPLASH! (The Tribeca Trib, February 2003)

[edit] Television series proposals and scripts

  • Mommy Juice (Copyright 2002)

[edit] Filmography

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Amy Sewell ‘Takes Five’ Mad Hot Ballroom writer wanted to put positive spin on life", Milwaukie Journal Sentinel, 15 Jan 2007. 
  2. ^ Awards for Mad Hot Ballroom (2005). Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
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[edit] External links