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Photograph of Jamie Sisley

Jamie Sisley Assistant Professor Film and Media Arts

Degrees
BA University of Virginia; MFA Columbia University

Bio
Jamie Sisley is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker who recently wrote and directed "Stay Awake," a narrative feature film that premiered at the 2022 Berlin Film Festival, where it won the AG Kino Gilde Auteur Award and was Honorable Mention for the Crystal Bear. Starring Chrissy Metz ("This Is Us"), Wyatt Oleff (“IT," Netflix’s “I Am Not Okay With This," Apple’s “City on Fire”), and Fin Argus (Max’s “Queer As Folk,” “The Other Two”), "Stay Awake" is a personal exploration of the roller coaster ride that families go on while trying to help their loved ones battle addiction. The feature is based off a short film of the same name that Jamie also wrote and directed. The short film premiered at the 2015 Berlin Film Festival, won both the National Board of Review Film Prize and Slamdance Grand Jury Prize, and played over 120 film festivals around the world.

In addition, Jamie received an Emmy Nomination for his feature documentary, "Farewell Ferris Wheel." Shot over the course of six years, "Farewell Ferris Wheel" explores how the U.S. Carnival industry fights to keep itself alive by legally employing Mexican migrant workers with the controversial H-2B guestworker visa. The film won the Creative Promise Award from the Tribeca Film Institute, received an Imagen Award Nomination for the positive portrayal of Latinos in entertainment, and was nationally broadcast on PBS and Netflix.

Jamie’s work has been supported by the Sundance Institute, SFFILM, Tribeca Film Institute, Film Independent, ITVS, and The Smithsonian Institute. Prior to film, Jamie was an artist manager in the music industry at Red Light Management.
See Also
Filmmaker Magazine: Writer-Director Jamie Sisley on Addiction Drama Stay Awake
LA Times: Stay Awake Review
NPR's All Things Considered: Stay Awake
Hollywood Reporter: ‘Stay Awake’ Wins Arthouse Cinema Award at Berlin
Stay Awake Official Trailer
For the Media
To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

Teaching

Spring 2024

  • COMM-413 Producing Film and Video

  • COMM-506 Writing the Short Film

Fall 2024

  • COMM-413 Producing Film and Video

  • COMM-466 Writing the Feature Film