Who’s Amanda?

This is the probably best bio written about me to date.

Amanda Pisetzner is a Queer, Emmy Award-winning documentary producer with over 15 years of experience crafting character-driven narratives for major platforms including Showtime, HBO, NBC, VICE News, Tubi, and others. Her work has earned 2 Emmy wins and 11 Emmy nominations across news, documentary, and primetime categories, and an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award.

Amanda's production experience spans complex documentary series to standalone specials. She has served as director and Supervising Producer on VICE News' Showtime series, helping manage large-scale productions while maintaining intimate storytelling. Her projects range from quick-turn investigative projects to deeply reported character studies, requiring both nimble production skills and the patience to cultivate trust with crew and participants alike.

Through thousands of hours conducting interviews, Amanda has developed a distinctive approach to documentary craft that emphasizes ethical practices, narrative rigor, and creating safe spaces for vulnerable stories. She excels at identifying narrative threads that connect individual experiences to universal themes.

After beginning her career in NBC's competitive Page Program in 2011, Amanda built her expertise across news, documentary, and long-form storytelling before founding Essential Storytelling in 2024. As an independent director, narrative advisor, and end-of-life doula, she works with individuals and organizations, bringing award-winning documentary-level craft and ethical rigor to stories at every scale, from major streaming platforms to the most intimate human moments.