“There is something incredibly gratifying about letting a story come to life whether it´s through acting , directing, editing or producing.
I love all aspects of the filmmaking process, and hope that my passion shines through in all of the work that I do”
Severine Reisp is an award-winning filmmaker, actress and producer born in Bielefeld, Germany.
At the age of 16, she received an academic as well as dance scholarship to attend a boarding school in England where she was able to combine her academic studies with a high level of dance training. During her teenage years she received scholarships to attend ballet summer intensives at Joffrey Ballet School, Rosella Hightower in Cannes, Northern Ballet School in the UK, Dortmund Ballet etc. She was invited to become a trainee with Joffrey Ballet School in New York and later with State Street Ballet in Santa Barbara, California performing in pieces such as Paquita, Symphonie C, Giselle, Nutcracker, and Scheherazade etc.
Severine eventually received the presidential scholarship to attend Sarah Lawrence College in Westchester where she has been able to combine her interests in theatre, film, and dance. She was able to let her own visions come to life and to collaborate with many talented dancers, filmmakers, actors, composers, and cinematographers in New York. Her first longer short film Giselle showed in 25 festivals worldwide and won numerous accolades in different categories.
In 2019 Severine also danced and acted in Sasha Spielvogel’s new musical Come Back Once More So I Can Say Goodbye — a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Stonewall.
Before starting her MFA in Filmmaking at CUNY, Severine worked as producer for the New York office of ARD, a public television network in Germany, one of the world’s largest broadcast organizations with foreign bureaus in twenty-six countries. The network is the market leader in Germany in news programming, committing a large percentage of its prime time to reports and documentaries from abroad.
Her recent short films have been recognized in a number of international film festivals: A Tango to Remember – Best Romance Film, Los Angeles Film Awards; Ruminate – Best Musical and Best Dance Choreography, Oniros Film Awards, Stop What You´re Doing – Best Music Video at Athens International Digitial Film Festival.
Recently, Severine directed the short bio-pic entitled Dance for Freedom, highlighting the challenges people of color face today, and which has garnered recognition as the First-Place Recipient of the Dr. David Milch Foundation/CCNY Award in short film competition. In her review juror Timberkly Whitfield, program executive and producer for A&E, as well as a host on the History Channel and A&E, wrote: “Glauco Araujo is a beautiful dancer and you capture him in such a way that really moved me. I felt inspired by his story that even in the face of racism he doesn’t see himself as a victim. Strong production values. You checked all the boxes on this one — FANTASTIC!”
Education
MFA in Filmmaking: The City College of New York, anticipated Graduation 2021
BA Sarah Lawrence College ´18
Additional Undergraduate Courses: Westmont College, Santa Barbara, University of Santa Barbara
