Amy Sewell

Biographical note:

Amy Sewell is a freelance writer who worked in communications for 12 years before taking time off to raise a family. She is currently working on a television sitcom called Mommy Juice and her next documentary, which she hopes to release in 2008. Amy lives with her husband and twin daughters in New York City.

Main description:

Want to make a documentary

Meet Amy Sewell, a former stay-at-home mother of twins with no filmmaking experience, who fell in love with a story about ballroom dancing kids. She went on to make and sell one of the most successful documentaries of all time.

Is that possible? How did she do it? In this engaging and insightful book, Sewell, the writer and producer of Mad Hot Ballroom, takes readers through the process. She describes her struggles and shares what she learned, from refining an idea, to raising money, to hiring a crew, to the festival circuit, distribution, and beyond. Informed by charming personal anecdotes and her infectious enthusiasm and energy, this book is an essential and inspiring guide to filmmaking from someone who burst on the scene, made her own rules, and survived to tell the tale. The Mad Hot Adventures of an Unlikely Documentary Filmmaker is a must-read for all aspiring filmmakers.