Amanda Pisetzner is a Queer, Emmy Award-winning documentary producer with over 15 years of experience crafting character-driven narratives for major networks 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 singular specials. She has served as Director and Supervising Producer on VICE’s Showtime series, helping manage large-scale productions while maintaining intimate storytelling. Her projects range from quick-turn investigative specials to deeply reported character studies, requiring both nimble production skills and the patience to cultivate trust with contributors.
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 through NBC’s competitive page program in 2011, Amanda built her expertise across news, documentary, and long-form storytelling before founding Essential Storytelling in 2024. She now works as a narrative advisor and teaches documentary production workshops, sharing practical techniques and ethical frameworks from her award-winning career.