Amy Seimetz

Amy Lynne Seimetz (born November 25, 1981) is an American actress, writer, producer, director, and editor. She has appeared in several productions, including AMC's The Killing, HBO's Family Tree and Shane Carruth's Upstream Color. In 2015, she co-wrote, co-directed and executive produced the Starz series The Girlfriend Experience, based on the Steven Soderbergh film of the same name, which was released to positive reviews and critical acclaim.
==Early life and education==
Seimetz grew up in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, and briefly attended film school 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 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, Seimetz will continue 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.
==Personal life==
As of 2016, Seimetz is engaged to filmmaker Shane Carruth.
==Filmography==
===Film===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
2003	Leaving Baghdad 	 	Short film
2004	The 17th Man 	Bookstore Patron 	Short film
2004	Measure of Love 	 	Short film
2005	The Unseen Kind-Hearted Beast 	Georgette 	Short film; director, producer, writer, editor
2005	Black Dragon Canyon 	Elizabeth Sterling 	
2006	Wristcutters: A Love Story 	Nina 	
2006	Say It 	 	Short film
2008	Medicine for Melancholy 	 	Associate producer
2008	We Saw Such Things 	 	Director, producer, editor
2009	Alexander the Last 	Hellen 	
2009	Round Town Girls 	Girl #1 	Short film; also director
2009	Time's Up 	Deborah 	Short film
2009	One Night Only 	Anna 	Short film
2010	Gabi on the Roof in July 	Chelsea 	
2010	Tiny Furniture 	Ashlynn 	
2010	Open Five 	Lynn 	
2010	The Myth of the American Sleepover 	Julie Higgins 	
2010	Bitter Feast 	Katherine Franks 	
2010	Incredibly Small 	Samantha 	
2010	Ruff Love 	Amy 	Short film
2010	Despedida 	Leah 	
2011	The Jonestown Defense 	 	
2011	The Off Hours 	Francine 	
2011	Silver Bullets 	Charlie 	Also producer
2011	The Dish and the Spoon 	Emma's Friend 	Also producer
2011	No Matter What 	Laura 	Also associate producer
2011	Small Pond 	Katie 	
2011	Coffee & Pie 	 	Short film
2011	Autoerotic 	 	
2011	You're Next 	Aimee 	
2011	Special Things to Do 	Sandy 	Short film
2012	Be Good 	Mary Kutzman 	
2012	Revenge for Jolly! 	Vicki 	
2012	Ghost of Old Highways 	The Bridesmaid / Hairlot / Choir Girl	Short film
2012	Possession 	Beth 	
2012	#PostModem 	 	Short film
2012	Sun Don't Shine 	 	Writer, producer, director, editor
2013	When We Lived in Miami 	 	Short film; Director & editor
2013	Upstream Color 	Kris 	
2013	Adventures of Christopher Bosh in the Multiverse	Rollerblading Death Dolphin 	
2013	9 Full Moons 	Frankie 	
2014	The Sacrament 	Caroline 	
2014	Lucky Them 	Sara 	
2014	I Believe in Unicorns 	Clara 	
2014	The Reconstruction of William Zero 	Jules 	
2014	Tehachapi 	 	Short film
2015	Entertainment 	Woman in Bar 	
2015	Ma 	Misty 	
2016	Lovesong 	Chloe 	
2017	Alien: Covenant - Prologue: Last Supper 	Maggie Faris 	Prologue: Last Supper | 20th Century FOX
2017	Alien: Covenant 	Maggie Faris 	
2017	Lean on Pete 	Lynn 	
2017	My Days of Mercy 	Martha 	
2018	Wild Nights with Emily 	Mabel 	
2019	Pet Sematary 	Rachael Creed 	Post-production
===Television===
Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes
2013 	Family Tree 	Ally Keele 	3 episodes
2013 	Law and Order: Special Victims Unit	Lena Olsen 	Episode: "Rapist Anonymous"
2013–2014 	The Killing 	Danette Leeds 	14 episodes
2016 	Junior 	Elliot 	10 episodes
2016–present	The Girlfriend Experience 	Annabel Reade 	5 episodes; also executive producer, writer, director
2016–2017 	Stranger Things 	Becky Ives 	3 episodes
2016 	Halt and Catch Fire 	Michelle Lattimer	Episode: "NIM"
2018 	Atlanta 	 	Director, Episode: "Helen", "Champagne Papi"
2018 	Get Shorty 	Jinny 	Season 2, recurring role; in production
==Awards and nominations==
Year	Title 	Award 	Result
2010	Tiny Furniture 	Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Ensemble Performance 	
2010	The Myth of the American Sleepover	SXSW Film Festival Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble Cast 	
2011	A Horrible Way To Die 	Fantastic Fest Award for Best Actress 	
2012	Sun Don't Shine 	SXSW Film Festival Special Jury Award - Emergent Narrative Woman Director 	
2012	Sun Don't Shine 	Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Film Not Playing At A Theater Near You	
2012	Sun Don't Shine 	RiverRun International Film Festival Special Jury Prize - Spark Award 	
2012	Sun Don't Shine 	Indiewire Best of 2012 Best Undistributed Film 	
2013	Upstream Color 	Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Actress 	
2013	Sun Don't Shine 	Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Director 	
==External links==
*Amy Seimetz on IMDb
Category:Living people
Category:American film actresses
Category:American film directors
Category:American documentary filmmakers
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)
Category:American women film directors
Category:American women screenwriters
Category:21st-century American actresses
Category:Actresses from Tampa, Florida
Category:Filmmakers from Florida
Category:1981 births
Category:Screenwriters from Florida
Category:Women documentary filmmakers