Sarah Marie Smith(II)

Sarah grew up in a wonderful little town called Carthage, TN. Her father was principal of the local high school, and her mother worked at the county extension office. From early childhood, she was drawn to acting and writing to convey feelings that were difficult to express in real life.

After graduating college, she worked as a flight attendant based in Atlanta. On her days off, Sarah acted in local theater productions. This led to her being signed by an agent, joining SAG, and eventually moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career as an actress.

In between acting gigs, she took classes in screenplay writing and directing at UCLA, with the dream of making independent films. When she was asked to attend Robert Redford's "Sundance Film Institute" as a volunteer actress, Sarah was thrilled. Spending time with legendary film makers and hearing stories about their careers was such an inspiration that her dream of independent film making felt like a real possibility.

But life took a different turn. When Sarah's mother died, she moved back to Tennessee to help care for her father, the one person who had always made her feel anything was possible if she worked hard enough. She got a graduate degree in Conflict Management and scheduled her mediation work around his care. After her father's death, friends asked Sarah to run for mayor. She was reluctant at first, but eventually acquiesced. To her surprise, she won the election. During her term as mayor, she formed coalitions of citizens, business entrepreneurs, and city employees who brought new life to her hometown.

After serving as mayor for four years, Sarah returned to her dream of writing and directing independent films. She wrote screenplays for three feature-length films and two short films, one of which she recently directed. She's deeply grateful to the talented cast and crew who made this possible, and to all who encouraged her to follow her dreams. Sarah feels blessed to be able to do the work she loves, and she hopes to continue making films that resonate with the human spirit for years to come.