North Carolina Neuroscientist Finds Chemistry In The Film Industry

Dr. Amy Tiemann, neuroscientist, educator and author is leaving the laboratory for the film set. The Chapel Hill-based film producer is cracking the glass ceiling again. The Stanford PhD worked in the male-dominated world of neuroscience. And now, through her woman-owned company Spark Productions, Dr. Tiemann is hoping to create opportunities for more diversity in front of and behind the camera.
 
Tiemann signed on last summer to executive produce Olympic Pride, American Prejudice after hearing a pitch from the film’s director Deborah Riley Draper at a Southern Documentary Fund filmmaker convening.  The highly-anticipated film tells the untold story of the 18 African American Olympians who defied Hitler and Jim Crow racism to win medals and hearts at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.  Tiemann says, “I’m excited to bring such an important story to audiences and correct the narrative of Jesse Owens as the only African American on the 1936 team.  And, I am especially thrilled to be a part of such a smart, talented and diverse production team.  This is a huge part of Spark Productions’ commitment to telling stories in new voices, from points of view that we have not seen before.” 
 
Tiemann and Draper screened a fine cut of Olympic Pride at the 2016 Berlinale European Film Market to a very receptive audience who found the story emotionally powerful and a completely new perspective on a commonly revisited story.  Tiemann, along with executive producer Blair Underwood and Draper, will screen a work-in-progress cut of the film in Chicago in conjunction with the DuSable Museum of African American History and the Illinois Holocaust Museum  and reunite five of the families of the 18 Olympians during this Black History Month event.  Tiemann’s goal is to screen the film at the White House for President Obama.  The 1936 African American Olympians were never invited to meet a U.S. president.
 
Looking to the future, Tiemann has several projects on the development horizon.  Spark Productions, in partnership with Crystal City Entertainment, is financing a slate of projects with Cross Creek Pictures. 
 
To learn more about Tiemann’s latest projects, visit her website at www.amytiemann.com
 

Contact Information

Michelle Pratico

Director of Operations

Spark Productions

(1) 919-448-6690

mpratico@sparkproductions.media