Amanda Mustard

Amanda Mustard is a queer filmmaker and photojournalist raised on a Christmas tree farm in rural Pennsylvania. She began her career as a photojournalist during the Arab Spring In Egypt, and spent a decade working regularly for clients like the New York Times and National Geographic first in the Middle East, and then in Thailand covering southeast Asia. That work imbued in her a deep compassion, a firm ethical foundation, and an incisive instinct for good stories.

She recently completed her feature-length directorial debut, Great Photo, Lovely Life, a deeply personal documentary that attempts to break a cycle of generational trauma within her family. Great Photo, Lovely Life premiered at SXSW in 2023, won Best Feature Film at the LES Film Festival, and was nominated for an IDA Documentary Award for Best TV Feature. It is currently streaming on HBO Max.

Mustard has worked with multiple press freedom groups to advocate for freelance sustainability and the awareness of mental health in ourselves, our subjects and crew. With extensive experience and passion for trauma-informed methods and nonviolent communication, she is available to consult on productions working with sensitive subject
matter.