Jeff Sewald
- Producción
- Dirección
- Guion
Jeff Sewald is an award-winning writer and filmmaker who specializes in defining the cultural significance of people, places, things and events. He has experience in a variety of media and with an array of topics - from politics to literature; business to sports.
In 2000, Mr. Sewald founded what is now Backstory Partners LLC, to develop his own projects. He launched the company with Gridiron & Steel, a documentary focusing on the spiritual relationship that exists between the sport of football and the people and communities of southwestern Pennsylvania. The film premiered in The Great Hall at Heinz Field, and received its public television debut in November 2001. A regional Emmy® Award winner, Gridiron & Steel has since been seen on public stations throughout the U.S. via the American Public Television Service, on cable via Comcast's "Video-On-Demand," and on The Documentary Channel as part of its "Friday Night Football" lineup.
Mr. Sewald's next film, Peter Matthiessen: No Boundaries, produced for PBS, was narrated by actress Glenn Close, premiered at BAM in New York, and received its national television debut in April 2009. The film went on to receive a host of awards, including a special citation from the Mid-Atlantic Emmy® committee for excellence in the documentary category. It has been screened at, among other institutions, The National Arts Club and The Century Club in New York, The Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center in Austin, Texas, and as a featured presentation of The Environmental Film Festival at The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
In 2018, MCG Jazz released "We Knew What We Had: The Greatest Jazz Story Never Told," a documentary written and directed by Mr. Sewald about the history and significance of jazz music in the City of Pittsburgh. In its initial year, the film appeared on 419 public television stations across 46 states and received 1,613 telecasts.
In addition to film work, Mr. Sewald co-authored "The Life and Deaths of Cyril Wecht: Memoirs of America's Most Controversial Forensic Pathologist," which was published in September 2020. And since 2006, he has written more than 70 profiles of Western Pennsylvania luminaries for Pittsburgh Quarterly magazine. His favorite 25 will be published as a collection in the fall of 2024.
In 2000, Mr. Sewald founded what is now Backstory Partners LLC, to develop his own projects. He launched the company with Gridiron & Steel, a documentary focusing on the spiritual relationship that exists between the sport of football and the people and communities of southwestern Pennsylvania. The film premiered in The Great Hall at Heinz Field, and received its public television debut in November 2001. A regional Emmy® Award winner, Gridiron & Steel has since been seen on public stations throughout the U.S. via the American Public Television Service, on cable via Comcast's "Video-On-Demand," and on The Documentary Channel as part of its "Friday Night Football" lineup.
Mr. Sewald's next film, Peter Matthiessen: No Boundaries, produced for PBS, was narrated by actress Glenn Close, premiered at BAM in New York, and received its national television debut in April 2009. The film went on to receive a host of awards, including a special citation from the Mid-Atlantic Emmy® committee for excellence in the documentary category. It has been screened at, among other institutions, The National Arts Club and The Century Club in New York, The Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center in Austin, Texas, and as a featured presentation of The Environmental Film Festival at The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
In 2018, MCG Jazz released "We Knew What We Had: The Greatest Jazz Story Never Told," a documentary written and directed by Mr. Sewald about the history and significance of jazz music in the City of Pittsburgh. In its initial year, the film appeared on 419 public television stations across 46 states and received 1,613 telecasts.
In addition to film work, Mr. Sewald co-authored "The Life and Deaths of Cyril Wecht: Memoirs of America's Most Controversial Forensic Pathologist," which was published in September 2020. And since 2006, he has written more than 70 profiles of Western Pennsylvania luminaries for Pittsburgh Quarterly magazine. His favorite 25 will be published as a collection in the fall of 2024.