Sean Hanish is an American film writer, producer and director best known for ''

Saint Judy ''Saint Judy'' is an American biographical drama film directed by Sean Hanish about Judy Wood, an immigration attorney who changed the law on granting asylum in the United States to save the lives of women. It stars Michelle Monaghan and Alfred M ...

'', ''Return to Zero'' and ''Sister Cities''.

Feature films

''Return to Zero'' (2014)

'' Return to Zero'' focuses on a successful couple who discover just before the due date of their first son that he has died in the womb and will be stillborn. Lives and relationship forever altered by the loss, nothing can save their marriage until they discover that they are again expecting and must face a turbulent and terrifying pregnancy together. The cast includes

Minnie Driver Amelia Fiona Jessica "Minnie" Driver (born 31 January 1970) is an English actress. She rose to prominence with her break-out role in 1995's '' Circle of Friends''. She went on to star in a wide range of films including the cult classic ''Grosse ...

Paul Adelstein Paul Adelstein (born April 29, 1969) is an American actor and writer, known for the role of Agent Paul Kellerman in the Fox television series ''Prison Break'' and his role as pediatrician Cooper Freedman in the ABC medical drama ''Private Practic ...

Alfred Molina Alfred Molina (born Alfredo Molina; 24 May 1953) is a British-American actor known for his work on the stage and screen. He first rose to prominence in the West End, earning a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Pla ...

Connie Nielsen Connie Inge-Lise Nielsen (born 3 July 1965) is a Danish actress. She has starred as Lucilla in the film '' Gladiator'' (2000) and as Hippolyta in the DC Extended Universe, and in the films ''Wonder Woman'' (2017), ''Justice League'' (2017), ''Wo ...

Andrea Anders Andrea Anders (born May 10, 1975) is an American actress. She is best known for her work on television, notably through her main roles on five anticipated but short-lived sitcoms, ''Joey'', '' The Class'', ''Better Off Ted'', '' Mr. Sunshine'' and ...

Kathy Baker } Katherine Whitton Baker (born June 8, 1950) is an American actress. Baker began her career in theater and made her screen debut in the 1983 drama film '' The Right Stuff''. She received the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Suppor ...

, and Sarah Jones. Based on the true story of Sean and his wife Kiley's experience with stillbirth, ''Return to Zero'' was

Lifetime Lifetime may refer to: * Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Lifetime (band), a rock band from New Jersey * ''Life Time'' (Rollins Band album), by Rollins Band * ...

’s first ever Global Premiere Film which was seen by over 4 million people when it premiered in May 2014 on Lifetime in the USA, Canada, the UK, and Southeast Asia.

''Sister Cities'' (2016)

Sister Cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

'' tells the story of four estranged sisters who return home to mourn following their mother's alleged suicide and find a mystery waiting for them. When the sisters discover that mom's body is still in the tub, they confront Austin, the one daughter who has stayed behind. As suspicions grow, hard truths are revealed and their relationships with each other are thrown into turmoil. The cast includes

Jacki Weaver Jacqueline Ruth Weaver (born 25 May 1947) is an Australian theatre, film and television actress. Weaver emerged in the 1970s as a symbol of the Australian New Wave through her work in Ozploitation films such as '' Stork'' (1971), ''Alvin Purp ...

, ''Pretty Little Liar'''s

Troian Bellisario Troian Avery Bellisario (born October 28, 1985) is an American actress. A graduate of the University of Southern California, in 2010, she received her breakthrough role as Spencer Hastings in the Freeform drama series ''Pretty Little Liars'' ( ...

, ''Castle's''

Stana Katic Stana Katic (; born ) is a Canadian-American actress and producer. She played Kate Beckett on the ABC television romantic crime series ''Castle'' (2009–2016) and Agent Emily Byrne in the thriller series '' Absentia'' (2017–2020). Early lif ...

Michelle Trachtenberg Michelle Trachtenberg (; born October 11, 1985) is an American actress and model. Trachtenberg began her career at age three, appearing in a number of commercials, films, and television series as a child. Her starring role on the Nickelodeon tel ...

Jess Weixler Jess Weixler (born ) is an American actress. She played Dawn O'Keefe in the comedy-horror film ''Teeth'' and Jordan in the comedy ''The Big Bad Swim''. Early life Weixler graduated in 1999 from Atherton High School in Louisville, Kentucky, wh ...

Tom Everett Scott Thomas Everett Scott (born September 7, 1970) is an American actor. His film work includes a starring role as drummer Guy Patterson in the film ''That Thing You Do!'', the protagonist in ''An American Werewolf in Paris'', and notable roles in ...

Amy Smart Amy Lysle Smart (born March 26, 1976) is an American actress. A native of Los Angeles, Smart began her career modelling in Italy and subsequently enrolled in acting school. Her first role in film was in director Martin Kunert's anthology horror ...

, and

Kaia Gerber Kaia Jordan Gerber (born September 3, 2001) is an American model and actress. She is the daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford and businessman Rande Gerber. After starring in a series of ad campaigns for fashion brands since debuting at Fashi ...

''Saint Judy'' (2018)

Sean's third feature film, ''

'', is set to premiere March 1, 2019. ''Saint Judy'' tells the true story of Los Angeles Immigration attorney Judy Wood, who single-handedly changed the United States Law of Asylum and saved countless lives in the process.

Awards and nominations

''Return to Zero'' earned an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nomination for its star,

, as well as Critics' Choice and

Satellite Award The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...

nominations for her phenomenal performance. Sean received a

WGA Award WGA may refer to: In arts and entertainment: * Web Gallery of Art * Writers Guild of Alberta * Writers Guild of America, an American union ** Writers Guild of America, East ** Writers Guild of America, West Other uses: * Wagga Wagga Airport (IATA ...

nomination for his screenplay, and the film won the International Press Association's

for Best Motion Picture Made for Television.

Commercial work

Sean also writes, directs, and produces commercials for a wide variety of international clients such as

Cindy Crawford Cynthia Ann Crawford (born February 20, 1966) is an American model, actress and television personality. During the 1980s and 1990s, she was among the most popular supermodels and a ubiquitous presence on magazine covers, runways, as well as fash ...

Sofia Vergara Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

Eric Church Kenneth Eric Church (born May 3, 1977) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He has released nine studio albums through Capitol Nashville since 2005. His debut album, 2006's '' Sinners Like Me'', produced three singles on the ''Billboar ...

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

DISNEY The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Hallmark A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term ''hallmark'' can al ...

Liz Claiborne Anne Elisabeth Jane Claiborne (March 31, 1929 – June 26, 2007) was an American fashion designer and businesswoman. Her success was built upon stylish yet affordable apparel for career women featuring colorfully tailored separates that cou ...

, and

Oscar De La Renta Óscar Arístides Renta Fiallo (22 July 1932 – 20 October 2014), known professionally as Oscar de la Renta, was a Dominican fashion designer. Born in Santo Domingo, he was trained by Cristóbal Balenciaga and Antonio del Castillo. De la Renta ...

through his production company Cannonball Productions.http://seanhanish.com/

Education

After studying under master film theorist

David Bordwell David Jay Bordwell (; born July 23, 1947) is an American film theorist and film historian. Since receiving his PhD from the University of Iowa in 1974, he has written more than fifteen volumes on the subject of cinema including ''Narration in th ...

at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, Sean completed his Master of Arts at the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanish, Sean Living people University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni American film producers American male screenwriters American directors Year of birth missing (living people)