Anne-Marie Hess

DIRECTOR BIOGRAPHY

Anne-Marie Hess is an alumnus of the New York University Film Program, and is currently developing her first feature film, Because. Her recent work, Home, is a 90 minute documentary about a small farming community in South Texas. The documentary is narrated by best selling author Joe Galloway (We Were Soldiers Once…and Young) and was made in association with The Southwest Alternate Media Project (SWAMP).

In the Spring 2000, her short film, The Speed of Light, was awarded first runner-up for best narrative short in the South by Southwest Film Festival, was an Undergraduate Winner in the 2001 Hamptons International Film Festival, was awarded Best Student Short at the Ancestral Film Festival 2002, and was awarded the Silver Star award at the Houston International Film Festival of 2002. The Speed of Light has been selected for extensive national and international festival exhibition, including the Sydney International Film Festival, the Edinburgh International Film Festival, the Rio de Janeiro International Short Film Festival, Viennalle International Film Festival, Shorts International Film Festival, the USA Film Festival, and OneReel Filmfest.

Hess’ other short film, Beautiful Day, was a regional semi-finalist for the 2001 Student Academy Awards,and has screened in Rio, Seattle, Texas, and Memphis. She has has received sponsorship for her short films from the Austin Film Society, the Richard Vague Production Fund, and was the recipient of both the Martin Scorcese Post-Production Award and the Richard Hexler Grant, both production grants given to the most promising film students at NYU.

In addition to directing her own productions, Hess has been acknowledged as a promising new writer. She has undertaken writing fellowships at various internationally competitive artist residences, including Chateau La Napoule, DAAD Berlin, and Yaddo. Also, Climbing Ms. Sophie, a film written by Hess, has received a great deal of acclaim, won the Wasserman Award for best short film of 2002, and has screened at numerous film festivals, including the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.