Seith Mann
Encyclopedia
Seith Mann is an American Film and Television Director
. He directed the award-winning Five Deep Breaths and has gone on to direct for The Wire
, Grey's Anatomy
, and Fringe
.
film Do The Right Thing
. Mann graduated from Morehouse College
and later earned an MFA in film at the Tisch School of the Arts
at New York University
.
, Anslem Richardson
, Marcuis Harris, Harvey Gardner Moore, Curtiss Cook, and Ka'ramuu Kush. The score was composed by jazz musician Jason Moran
.
The film premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival
. It won first place in the Charles and Lucille King Family Foundation award (for Best Short Film), and The Carl Lerner Award for Film with Social Significance at the 2003 New York University First Run Festival. It was selected to screen at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival
and one of four American shorts to screen at the Cinefondation Competition at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival
. It won a Gold Plaque for Narrative Short Film at the 2003 Chicago International Film Festival
. It also won the Best Narrative Short Film award at the 2003 Los Angeles IFP/West Film Festival.
Film maker magazine named Mann one of their 25 new faces of independent film in 2003. They praised his direction of Five Short Breaths as "skillful". The IFP gave Mann the Gordon Parks Awards for Emerging African-American Filmmakers following the film's release.
saw Five Deep Breaths and introduced the other producers of HBO drama The Wire to it. The producers approached Mann and asked him to shadow their directors during production of the third season in 2004. Show runner David Simon recalls that Colesberry wanted Mann to direct a third season episode but Colesberry's untimely death left the other producers reeling and they felt unable to risk a directorial debut in their first season without him. Simon recalls Mann shadowing director Ernest R. Dickerson and showing a "careful interest in the process."
In 2006, Mann joined the directing crew of The Wires fourth season. Simon felt obligated to give Mann a chance after his dedication to shadowing Dickerson. Mann made his television directing debut with the third episode of the season, "Home Rooms
". Simon was pleased with the episode and described it as "beautifully covered."
Mann also was an ABC DGA Fellow class of 2005, a fellowship aimed at encouraging "diversity of race, gender and spirit in the filmmaking community." In 2007 Mann was nominate for an NAACP Image Award in the category Outstanding Directing in a Dramatic Series for his work on episode "Home Rooms". Mann has commented that he was "excited" to receive the nomination and grateful to the NAACP for their work.
After The Wire, Mann worked on Grey's Anatomy
directing two episodes in 2006, "Name of the Game" and "Don't Stand So Close to Me". In 2007 Mann was nominated for a DGA Award in the category Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series for his work on the "Name of the Game". Mann has also directed episodes of Heroes
, Cold Case, Lincoln Heights
, Jericho
, Entourage
, Friday Night Lights
, Men in Trees
, Shark
, and Fringe
.
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
. He directed the award-winning Five Deep Breaths and has gone on to direct for The Wire
The Wire (TV series)
The Wire is an American television drama series set and produced in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon, the series was broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States...
, Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
, and Fringe
Fringe (TV series)
Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security...
.
Biography
Mann was inspired to become a director when he saw the Spike LeeSpike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
film Do The Right Thing
Do the Right Thing
Do the Right Thing is a 1989 American dramedy produced, written, and directed by Spike Lee, who is also a featured actor in the film. Other members of the cast include Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, and John Turturro. It is also notably the...
. Mann graduated from Morehouse College
Morehouse College
Morehouse College is a private, all-male, liberal arts, historically black college located in Atlanta, Georgia. Along with Hampden-Sydney College and Wabash College, Morehouse is one of three remaining traditional men's colleges in the United States....
and later earned an MFA in film at the Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts is one of the 15 schools that make up New York University ....
at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
.
Five Deep Breaths
Mann's thesis at New York University was the short film Five Deep Breaths. It was awarded the Spike Lee fellowship while in development in 2002. The film is set an all-black college and deals with the aftermath of a physical assault upon a young woman by her boyfriend, and the actions of the victim's secret lover and his friends. Mann has commented that he likes morally ambiguous situations. The short starred Jamie HectorJamie Hector
Jamie Hector is an Haitian-American actor who is known for his portrayal of Marlo Stanfield on the critically acclaimed HBO series The Wire.- Biography :...
, Anslem Richardson
Anslem Richardson
Anslem Richardson is an African American actor with around 15 film credits. He is perhaps best known for his role as Joel in As the World Turns and Steven in 'Midnight Club 2...
, Marcuis Harris, Harvey Gardner Moore, Curtiss Cook, and Ka'ramuu Kush. The score was composed by jazz musician Jason Moran
Jason Moran (musician)
Jason Moran is a jazz pianist and composer who debuted as a band leader with the 1999 album Soundtrack to Human Motion. Since then, he has garnered much critical acclaim and won a number of awards for his playing and compositional skills, which combine elements of stride piano, avant-garde jazz,...
.
The film premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
. It won first place in the Charles and Lucille King Family Foundation award (for Best Short Film), and The Carl Lerner Award for Film with Social Significance at the 2003 New York University First Run Festival. It was selected to screen at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
and one of four American shorts to screen at the Cinefondation Competition at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
. It won a Gold Plaque for Narrative Short Film at the 2003 Chicago International Film Festival
Chicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America....
. It also won the Best Narrative Short Film award at the 2003 Los Angeles IFP/West Film Festival.
Film maker magazine named Mann one of their 25 new faces of independent film in 2003. They praised his direction of Five Short Breaths as "skillful". The IFP gave Mann the Gordon Parks Awards for Emerging African-American Filmmakers following the film's release.
Television
Television Producer Robert F. ColesberryRobert F. Colesberry
Robert F. "Bob" Colesberry, Jr. was an American film and television producer and first assistant director notable for his work as a producer on the Emmy Award winning miniseries The Corner, the Peabody Award winning television series The Wire for HBO, and the Oscar-nominated movie Mississippi...
saw Five Deep Breaths and introduced the other producers of HBO drama The Wire to it. The producers approached Mann and asked him to shadow their directors during production of the third season in 2004. Show runner David Simon recalls that Colesberry wanted Mann to direct a third season episode but Colesberry's untimely death left the other producers reeling and they felt unable to risk a directorial debut in their first season without him. Simon recalls Mann shadowing director Ernest R. Dickerson and showing a "careful interest in the process."
In 2006, Mann joined the directing crew of The Wires fourth season. Simon felt obligated to give Mann a chance after his dedication to shadowing Dickerson. Mann made his television directing debut with the third episode of the season, "Home Rooms
Home Rooms (The Wire episode)
"Home Rooms" is the third episode of the fourth season of the HBO original series The Wire. Written by Richard Price from a story by Ed Burns & Richard Price, and directed by Seith Mann, it originally aired on September 24, 2006.-Title reference:...
". Simon was pleased with the episode and described it as "beautifully covered."
Mann also was an ABC DGA Fellow class of 2005, a fellowship aimed at encouraging "diversity of race, gender and spirit in the filmmaking community." In 2007 Mann was nominate for an NAACP Image Award in the category Outstanding Directing in a Dramatic Series for his work on episode "Home Rooms". Mann has commented that he was "excited" to receive the nomination and grateful to the NAACP for their work.
After The Wire, Mann worked on Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
directing two episodes in 2006, "Name of the Game" and "Don't Stand So Close to Me". In 2007 Mann was nominated for a DGA Award in the category Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series for his work on the "Name of the Game". Mann has also directed episodes of Heroes
Heroes (TV series)
Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...
, Cold Case, Lincoln Heights
Lincoln Heights (TV series)
Lincoln Heights is an American drama television series about Eddie Sutton, a Mission Vista police officer who moves his family back to his old neighborhood, Lincoln Heights, to start a new life and to help out his old neighborhood...
, Jericho
Jericho (TV series)
Jericho is an American action/drama series that centers on the residents of the fictional town of Jericho, Kansas, in the aftermath of nuclear attacks on 23 major cities in the contiguous United States...
, Entourage
Entourage (TV series)
Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...
, Friday Night Lights
Friday Night Lights (TV series)
Friday Night Lights is an American sports drama television series adapted by Peter Berg, Brian Grazer and David Nevins from a book and film of the same name. The series details events surrounding a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to team...
, Men in Trees
Men in Trees
Men in Trees is an American romantic television dramedy series which premiered on September 12, 2006 on ABC and starred Anne Heche who played relationship coach Marin Frist. The series was set in the fictional town of Elmo, Alaska and concerned Marin Frist's misadventures in relationships...
, Shark
Shark (TV series)
Shark is an American legal drama created by Ian Biederman that originally aired on CBS from September 21, 2006 to May 20, 2008. The series stars James Woods.-Synopsis:...
, and Fringe
Fringe (TV series)
Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security...
.
Future projects
Mann is working on a feature film script entitled Come Sunday. The script won two development awards (the Emerging Narrative Screenwriting Award and the Gordon Parks Award for Screenwriting) from the IFP in 2004.Director
| Year | Show | Episode | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Fringe Fringe (TV series) Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security... |
"Brown Betty Brown Betty (Fringe) "Brown Betty" is the 20th episode of the second season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe, and is the only one of the series performed as a musical. The episode was written by co-showrunners Jeff Pinkner and J. H. Wyman, and consulting producer Akiva Goldsman. It was... " |
Season 2, episode 20 |
| 2009 | Californication Californication (TV series) Californication is an American comedy-drama that premiered on Showtime on August 13, 2007. The show was created by Tom Kapinos. The protagonist, Hank Moody , is a troubled novelist whose move to California, coupled with his writer's block, complicates his relationships with his longtime girlfriend... |
"Dogtown" | Season 3, episode 10 |
| Heroes Heroes (TV series) Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the... |
"Cold Wars" | Season 3, episode 17 | |
| 2008 | Brotherhood | "The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth" | Season 3, episode 4 |
| Crash Crash (2008 TV series) Crash is an American television drama series set in Los Angeles, California. It is the first original series produced by the Starz network. The network ordered a 13 episode season which premiered on October 17, 2008. The series is based on the 2004 film of the same name. It was developed for... |
"Panic" | Season 1, episode 3 | |
| Sons of Anarchy Sons of Anarchy Sons of Anarchy is an American television drama series created by Kurt Sutter about the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in Northern California... |
"AK-51" | Season 1, episode 5 | |
| Entourage Entourage (TV series) Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons... |
"Redomption" | Season 5, episode 6 | |
| "Fire Sale" | Season 5, episode 4 | ||
| The Riches The Riches The Riches is an FX television series, which originally ran from March 15, 2007 to April 29, 2008, and starred Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver.-History:... |
"Slums of Bayou Hills" | Season 2, episode 4 | |
| Jericho Jericho (TV series) Jericho is an American action/drama series that centers on the residents of the fictional town of Jericho, Kansas, in the aftermath of nuclear attacks on 23 major cities in the contiguous United States... |
"Patriots and Tyrants" | Season 2, episode 7 | |
| The Wire The Wire (TV series) The Wire is an American television drama series set and produced in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon, the series was broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States... |
"The Dickensian Aspect The Dickensian Aspect "The Dickensian Aspect" is the sixth episode of the fifth season of the HBO original series, The Wire. The episode was written by Ed Burns from a story by David Simon & Ed Burns and was directed by Seith Mann... " |
Season 5, episode 6 | |
| 2007 | Shark Shark (TV series) Shark is an American legal drama created by Ian Biederman that originally aired on CBS from September 21, 2006 to May 20, 2008. The series stars James Woods.-Synopsis:... |
"Student Body" | Season 2, episode 5 |
| Men in Trees Men in Trees Men in Trees is an American romantic television dramedy series which premiered on September 12, 2006 on ABC and starred Anne Heche who played relationship coach Marin Frist. The series was set in the fictional town of Elmo, Alaska and concerned Marin Frist's misadventures in relationships... |
"Chemical Reactions" | Season 2, episode 2 | |
| Friday Night Lights Friday Night Lights (TV series) Friday Night Lights is an American sports drama television series adapted by Peter Berg, Brian Grazer and David Nevins from a book and film of the same name. The series details events surrounding a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to team... |
"Are You Ready for Friday Night?" | Season 2, episode 3 | |
| Entourage | "The Dream Team" | Season 4, episode 5 | |
| Jericho | "One If by Land" | Season 1, episode 20 | |
| Lincoln Heights Lincoln Heights (TV series) Lincoln Heights is an American drama television series about Eddie Sutton, a Mission Vista police officer who moves his family back to his old neighborhood, Lincoln Heights, to start a new life and to help out his old neighborhood... |
"House Arrest" | Season 1, episode 12 | |
| Cold Case | "Blackout" | Season 4, episode 13 | |
| 2006 | Grey's Anatomy Grey's Anatomy Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in... |
"Don't Stand So Close to Me" | Season 3, episode 10 |
| "The Name of the Game" | Season 2, episode 22 | ||
| The Wire | "Home Rooms Home Rooms (The Wire episode) "Home Rooms" is the third episode of the fourth season of the HBO original series The Wire. Written by Richard Price from a story by Ed Burns & Richard Price, and directed by Seith Mann, it originally aired on September 24, 2006.-Title reference:... " |
Season 4, episode 3 | |
| 2003 | Five Deep Breaths | ||
| 2001 | Apology | ||
Editor
- All We Know of Heaven (2004)
- Where to Find God on Sunday (2000)
- Kiss It Up to God (2000)