Nina Gilden Seavey
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Nina Gilden Seavey is a documentary filmmaker and Research Professor of History and Media and Public Affairs at
George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...
(GWU). She was the Director of the Documentary Center at GW, which she founded in October 1990, before stepping down in 2020. In 2017, Seavey was named a visiting research scholar at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at
Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...
. Seavey also served as founding director and executive producer for SILVERDOCS: AFI-Discovery Channel Documentary Film Festival (now known as AFI Docs) between 2002 and 2008. Beginning in 2020, Seavey formed Seavey Media, LLC a firm focusing on developing content across multiple platforms. The range of her work can be seen a
seaveymedia.com
Publicly available video can be seen on Seavey'
Youtube Channel
In addition to her various media projects, Seavey joined the faculty of th
Maine Media Workshops and College
where she frequently offers short courses on various aspects of documentary production.


Early life

Nina Beth Gilden, grew up in
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
,
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
the daughter of civil rights attorney, Louis Gilden, and clinical psychologist Joanne Bamberger Gilden. She has three brothers, Carey Wayne Gilden (deceased), David Loren Gilden, and Daniel Joseph Gilden. She attended school K-12 in
University City, Missouri University City (colloquially, U. City) is an inner-ring suburb of the city of St. Louis in St. Louis County, in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was measured at 35,065 by the 2020 census. The city is one of the older suburbs in th ...
. In 1974–1975 she was a foreign exchange student via the
American Field Service AFS Intercultural Programs (or AFS, originally the American Field Service) is an international youth exchange organization. It consists of over 50 independent, not-for-profit organizations, each with its own network of volunteers, professional ...
(AFS) to
Tournai, Belgium Tournai ( , ; ; ; , sometimes anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies by road southwest of the centre of Brussels on the river Scheldt, and is par ...
where she attended the Institut Ste. Andre. Upon returning to the US, she briefly studied at
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...
and received her B.A. in History and French Literature from
Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...
(1978). She holds a master's degree in history from George Washington University (1991).


Personal life

In 1985, Gilden married Ormond Seavey Jr. a professor of English at George Washington University and they moved to Takoma Park, MD, where they still reside. Upon her marriage, she officially changed her name to Nina Gilden Seavey. They have three children: Dr. Aaron Louis Seavey (1986), Eleanor Elisabeth Fortier (née Eleanor Elisabeth Seavey) (1988), and Dr. Caleb Nathaniel Seavey (1991).


Political career

Gilden's political career began very early when she became the youngest paid member of the McGovern for President Campaign in 1972 serving on the Missouri State staff at the age of 15. After the campaign, she joined the secondary boycott committee for the striking United Farm Workers Union in St. Louis. Soon after she served as the Eastern Missouri volunteer coordinator for presidential candidate
Morris Udall Morris King Udall (June 15, 1922 – December 12, 1998) was an American attorney and Democratic politician who served as a U.S. representative from Arizona from May 2, 1961, to May 4, 1991. He was a leading contender for the 1976 Democratic pr ...
in 1976. In 1978 Gilden moved to
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, where she ran the political action committee for the Coalition for a New Foreign and Military Policy during the mid-term elections. Immediately after the election, she was hired by Congresswoman
Patricia Schroeder Patricia Nell Scott Schroeder (July 30, 1940 – March 13, 2023) was an American politician who represented Colorado's 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, ...
(D-CO) to serve as her legislative staff to the
House Armed Services Committee The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee or HASC, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for funding and oversight of the Department of ...
. In 1980, Gilden was hired by the
Office of the Secretary of Defense The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is a headquarters-level staff of the United States Department of Defense. It is the principal civilian staff element of the U.S. Secretary of Defense, and it assists the Secretary in carrying out au ...
to serve as a special advisor in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Manpower, Reserve Affairs, and Logistics working on issues relating to the integration of women into the military academies and aboard combatant naval vessels and aircraft. In the wake of the Republican landslide during the 1980 elections, Gilden left politics.


Career in film

Seavey began her career in media initially working for media entrepreneur Alexander Sheftell developing radio programming for Mutual Broadcasting Corporation. In 1983, she and Sheftel became producers, along with
Dan Enright Daniel Enright (né Ehrenreich; August 30, 1917 – May 22, 1992) was an American television producer, primarily of game shows. Enright worked with Jack Barry from the 1940s until Barry's death in 1984. They were partners in creating programs fo ...
, on the nationally syndicated ''Jack Anderson Confidential''. In 1984, Seavey produced for a number of broadcasters including
WMAR-TV WMAR-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. The station's studios and offices are located on York Road ( Maryland Route 45) in Towson north o ...
in Baltimore and the WETA nationally distributed weekly, ''The Lawmakers''. In 1990, she developed a partnership with Academy Award-winning filmmaker,
Paul Wagner Paul Alan Wagner (born November 14, 1967) is an American professional baseball coach and former pitcher who is currently the pitching coach for the Lake Country DockHounds of the American Association of Professional Baseball. He played in Maj ...
, and they produced several films for the Smithsonian's
National Postal Museum The National Postal Museum, located in Washington, D.C., is the primary postal museum of the United States. It covers large portions of the postal history of the United States and other countries. It was established through joint agreement be ...
, the
Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...
, and for
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
. In 1998, Seavey began producing and directing films independently. Seavey is a frequent panelist for film funding and prizes for organizations such as the
National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...
, The Southern Humanities Media Fund, the
International Documentary Association International Documentary Association (IDA), founded in 1982, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Their major program areas are: Advocacy, Film ...
, The Jack Kent Cooke Family Foundation, The Heinz Family Foundation, and the
News and Documentary Emmy Awards The News & Documentary Emmy Awards, or News & Documentary Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the National Academy of Television Arts and Scien ...
, among many others. In addition to her film, television, and podcast projects, Seavey is a prolific author. Her written works can be found in books, industry trade publications, as well in scholarly, popular and literary journals.


Honors and legacy

Seavey was named the “Woman of Vision” by Women in Film and Video in 2006.Women in Film and Video
/ref> In 2012, she was named one of the top 50 Professors in Journalism in the U.S.


Films, Television, and Podcasts - Major Credits

* ''The Battle of the Alamo'' (1996) – producer and co-director (Discovery Channel) * ''. . . . And There We Wandered Sometimes West'', co-producer (1997), (Signature Communications and the National Park Service) * ''A Paralyzing Fear: The Story of Polio in America'' (1998) – producer, director, and writer (PBS and PBS Video) * ''The Ballad of Bering Strait'' (2002) – director and producer (Emerging Pictures, VIACOM for CMT, VH1, and MTV, Rainbow Media, and Koch Lorber Video) * ''The Open Road: America Looks at Aging'' (2005) – director and producer (PBS through APT and First Run Features) * ''A Short History of Sweet Potato Pie and How it Became a Flying Saucer'' (2006) – director and co-producer (Snag Films) * ''
The Matador ''The Matador'' is a 2005 black comedy crime film written and directed by Richard Shepard, and starring Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear. The film was released on DVD on July 4, 2006, and on HD DVD on December 19, 2006. Brosnan received praise an ...
'' (2008) – producer and co-director (City Lights Pictures, Sundance Channel, Warner Brothers Home Entertainment) * ''4Th and Goal'' (2011) – director and co-producer (Gravitas Ventures and Warner Brothers Home Entertainment) * ''The War At Home'' (2012) – director and co-writer (Signature Communications and the National Park Service) * ''Parables of War'' (2015) – director and producer (Gravitas Ventures, 2016) * ''"My Fugitive"'' (2021) – host and co-writer (Pineapple Street Studios, 2021) * ''"The Plot to Kill a King"'' (forthcoming) - executive producer and producer/director * ''"Nuclear Fallout"'' (forthcoming) - host and writer


Major awards

* Emmy Award for Best Research in a Documentary Film, 1998 for ''A Paralyzing Fear: The Story of Polio in America'', 1998 * Emmy nominations for Best Editing (Cathy Shields) and Best Original Score (Paul Christianson) for ''A Paralyzing Fear: The Story of Polio in America'', 1998 * Erik Barnouw Prize for Best Historical Film of the Year, 1998 for ''A Paralyzing Fear: The Story of Polio in America'' * Gold Medal for Best International Broadcast, International Cindy Competition, for ''A Paralyzing Fear: The Story of Polio in America'', 2000 * International Documentary Association, ABC Video News Source Nominee for ''A Paralyzing Fear: The Story of Polio in America'', 1999 * Benjamin Franklin Award for Best Outreach for a Documentary Film for ''A Paralyzing Fear: The Story of Polio in America'', 2000 * Emmy Award nomination for Best Director for ''The Ballad of Bering Strait'', 2003 * International Documentary Association, Distinguished Achievement in a Documentary Short nominee, for ''A Short History of Sweet Potato Pie and How it Became a Flying Saucer'', 2006 * Emmy Award nomination for Best Original Score (John Califra) for ''The Matador'', 2008 * Special Cine Jury Award for Best Independent Documentary for ''The Matador'', 2010 * Italian National Olympic Committee Cup, 29th Annual FICTS " Sport Movies & TV - Milano International FICTS Fest", Italy for ''4th & GOAL'', 2011 * Best Film, National Association for Interpretation Media for ''The War at Home'', 2013. * Peter C Rollins Prize for Best Film in American Culture for ''Parables of War'', 2016


References

* MPA Faculty Profil
Faculty Profile


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Seavey, Nina Gilden American documentary filmmakers Living people Washington University in St. Louis alumni Columbian College of Arts and Sciences alumni George Washington University faculty Year of birth missing (living people) Mount Holyoke College alumni