Amy Seimetz

Early life and education

Seimetz was born in Florida and mainly grew up in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area. She has Ukrainian ancestry, and also spent part of her childhood in Ukraine. She briefly attended film school at Florida State University before moving to Los Angeles. There, she worked as a nanny, a waitress, and a seamstress while learning filmmaking.

Career

Seimetz began her film career by producing and directing short and independent films, including Barry Jenkins' Medicine for Melancholy, which was nominated for Gotham and Independent Spirit Awards after playing at South By Southwest and the Toronto International Film Festival. She acted in Joe Swanberg's Alexander The Last, which premiered at SXSW. She also worked with Swanberg on Silver Bullets and Autoerotic, continuing with acting roles in Gabi on the Roof in July, Tiny Furniture, Open Five, and The Myth of the American Sleepover.

Seimetz's performance in A Horrible Way to Die won her the Best Actress award at Fantastic Fest. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to good reviews. She appeared in The Off Hours. About her, the Los Angeles Times wrote: "Every year, the Sundance Film Festival has a semi-official 'it girl' who encapsulates the festival's cocktail of discovery and buzz. But what about someone who embodies the independent film world's sense of community and the pitch-in spirit of collaboration, something like a most valuable player? That prize might well go to Amy Seimetz."

The Hollywood Reporter singled Seimetz out as one of the breakouts of Sundance that year: "As a late-night truck-stop waitress and orphaned lost soul, Seimetz invests Off Hours dead-end world of tiny tragedies with a hidden, hard-won strength." She appeared in Revenge for Jolly!. In 2012, she made her feature directorial debut with the Florida-based thriller Sun Don't Shine, which she also wrote, produced, and co-edited. The film premiered at South By Southwest to rave reviews. Indiewire wrote: "Her terrific directorial debut was a brilliant noir exercise with less mumbling than raw brawls. She pinned me to my Alamo Drafthouse seat and the film kept me there for the next 82 minutes."

Seimetz is the star of Upstream Color and Pit Stop, both of which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. In February, she was added as a series regular to AMC's series The Killing. In season 3, she plays Danette Leeds, a "hard-living, financially strapped single mother whose 14-year-old daughter goes missing".

In June 2014, Starz announced that they had ordered a 13-episode anthology series of the film The Girlfriend Experience, co-written, co-directed, and executive produced by Seimetz and Lodge Kerrigan. This came after the film's creator Steven Soderbergh stated: "I think if I were going to run a studio I'd just be gathering the best filmmakers I could find and sort of let them do their thing within certain economic parameters. So I would call Shane Carruth, or Barry Jenkins or Amy Seimetz and I'd bring them in and go, OK, what do you want to do?" The series was later renewed for a second season, and Seimetz continued to produce, write, and direct episodes.

In 2017, Seimetz appeared in Alien: Covenant, directed by Ridley Scott, and also had roles in Lean on Pete, directed by Andrew Haigh, and My Days of Mercy, opposite Elliot Page. In 2018, Seimetz starred opposite Molly Shannon in Wild Nights with Emily directed by Madeleine Olnek. That same year, Seimetz directed two episodes of Atlanta, and had a recurring role on the second season of Get Shorty.

In 2019, Seimetz starred in Pet Sematary, an adaption of the novel of the same name by Stephen King. She directed She Dies Tomorrow, starring Kate Lyn Sheil and Jane Adams, which was set to have its world premiere at South by Southwest in March 2020, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Seimetz co-starred in 2020's The Comey Rule, a miniseries for Showtime, and the thriller film The Secrets We Keep directed by Yuval Alder.

In 2021, Seimetz was announced as the director and an executive producer of The Idol; however, by April 2022 she had left the project amid its creative overhaul, with roughly 80% of the series already filmed. Her material was not used in the final project.

Personal life

In 2016, Seimetz was engaged to filmmaker Shane Carruth, though they had separated by 2019. She later obtained a temporary restraining order against him, alleging years of emotional, mental, and physical abuse, which Carruth denies.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

Notes

Shared with Claire Sloma, Marlon Morton, Amanda Bauer, Brett Jacobsen, Nikita Ramsey, and Jade Ramsey

Shared with Brady Corbet, and David Oyelowo.

References

References

1. (June 2012). "Meet the Filmmaker: Amy Seimetz ("Sun Don't Shine")". Rooftop Films.
2. "Amy Seimetz Biography". [[TV Guide]].
3. "The Girlfriend Experience".
4. Nguyen, Hanh. (March 23, 2018). "'Atlanta' Director Amy Seimetz on Creating Those 'Get Out' Vibes in the Creepy Episode 'Helen'". [[IndieWire]].
5. (April 3, 2013). "Amy Seimetz Breaks Through".
6. (September 18, 2013). "Amy Seimetz Digitally Premieres ''Sun Don't Shine'' Film".
7. Catsoulis, Jeannette. (2011-08-18). "The Serial-Killer Story Takes a New Twist". The New York Times.
8. (January 23, 2011). "Sundance 2011: Amy Seimetz".
9. (2011-01-21). "Who Is the Next Breakout Star of Sundance 2011?".
10. Murphy, Mekado. (2012-03-13). "Turning Up the Heat With 'Sun Don't Shine'".
11. "''Time Out Chicago'' review of ''Sun Don't Shine''".
12. (March 15, 2012). "Indiewire's 12 Favorite Moments from SXSW 201".
13. Willmore, Alison. (February 12, 2013). "Amy Seimetz Joins the Cast of AMC's 'The Killing'".
14. Littleton, Cynthia. (June 23, 2014). "Starz Orders 'Girlfriend Experience' Series From Steven Soderbergh, Philip Fleishman".
15. (April 30, 2013). "Steven Soderbergh's State of Cinema Talk".
16. Birnbaum, Debra. (August 1, 2016). "Starz Renews 'The Girlfriend Experience' For Season Two".
17. (February 25, 2016). "'Alien: Covenant' Crews Up: 'Empire's Jussie Smollett, Amy Seimetz, Carmen Ejogo & More Join Cast". Deadline Hollywood.
18. Grater, Tom. (September 10, 2016). "First look: 'Lean On Pete'".
19. McNary, Dave. (August 18, 2016). "Tali Shalom Ezer Directing Ellen Page and Kate Mara in Romantic Drama 'Mercy'".
20. Blisten, Jon. (March 7, 2019). "Watch Molly Shannon as Emily Dickinson in New 'Wild Nights With Emily' Trailer".
21. Nyguen, Hahn. (March 23, 2018). "'Atlanta' Director Amy Seimetz on Creating Those 'Get Out' Vibes in the Creepy Episode 'Helen'".
22. Petski, Denise. (March 13, 2018). "'Get Shorty': Amy Seimetz Set To Recur In Season 2".
23. (June 1, 2018). "Amy Seimetz Female Lead In 'Pet Sematary' Remake".
24. Ray-Ramos, Dino. (January 15, 2020). "SXSW Sets Judd Apatow's 'The King Of Staten Island' As Opening-Night Film, Unveils Features And Episodics Lineups".
25. (March 6, 2020). "City of Austin Cancels SXSW March Events".
26. (November 25, 2019). "James Comey Mini Sets Amy Seimetz For Key FBI Attorney Trisha Anderson".
27. (April 23, 2019). "'The Secrets We Keep': Chris Messina & Amy Seimetz Join Noomi Rapace & Joel Kinnaman In AGC-Di Bonaventura Thriller".
28. Hailu, Selome. (2022-04-25). "Amy Seimetz Out as Director of the Weeknd's HBO Drama Series 'The Idol', Series to Undergo Significant Reshoots".
29. Hailu, Selome. (April 25, 2022). "The Weeknd's HBO Drama Series 'The Idol' to Undergo Significant Reshoots".
30. Erbland, Kate. (January 26, 2016). "News Film TV Awards Toolkit More Search Sundance: Amy Seimetz Explains the Most Feminist Decision She Made When Crafting 'The Girlfriend Experience'".
31. Kohn, Eric. (April 13, 2019). "Amy Seimetz Conquers Hollywood By Saying No to Marvel and Yes to 'Pet Sematary'".
32. Maddaus, Gene. (July 27, 2020). "'Upstream Color' Director Shane Carruth Accused of Abusing Ex-Girlfriend".
33. (February 22, 2017). "Alien: Covenant | Prologue: Last Supper | 20th Century FOX".
34. (March 13, 2018). "'Get Shorty': Amy Seimetz Set To Recur In Season 2".
35. (October 19, 2013). "From the Archives: Amy Seimetz".