Mary Sette is a writer/director and film photographer from a small, terrible town in the armpit of New Jersey. She grew up on an aging family farm surrounded by wildlife and abundance, and yet caged by woods and isolation. Her work uses all forms of horror — physical, emotional, societal — to dissect where beauty, loneliness, and violence intertwine. She’s obsessed with monsters and villains, or rather broken people so desperate for love they’ll settle for pain.
She is currently in pre-production on love is a dog. play dead, a coming-of-age body horror short film shot on 16mm on her family’s farm.
Her short film, HOT TODDY, a teeny-bopper murder mystery starring Anna Seregina, Atsuko Okatsuka, and Katrina Davis, was named Programmer’s Pick at Shonda Rhimes’ SeriesFest; it went on to screen at Outfest LGBTQ+ Film Festival, Rhode Island International Film Festival, Brooklyn Film Festival, and many more.
Her scripts have been shortlisted by Sundance Institute, Hedgebrook Screenwriting Lab, & Austin Film Festival. She has been a mentee in Women in Film for writing and directing.
Mary received her MFA from USC's John Wells Division of Writing for Screen and Television and a Bachelor's Degree from The George Washington University in English and Creative Writing.
In addition to filmmaking, Mary is an accomplished illustrator showcasing her work at premier international comic festivals including the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, LA Zine Festival at The Broad, and Small Press Expo.
HOT TODDY is an animated comedy and teenybopper whodunnit about two ex-BFFS and the buckets of blood between them, only some of which from their periods.
• SeriesFest Programmer’s Pick, Outfest LGBTQ+ Film Festival, Rhode Island International Film Festival, Brooklyn Film Festival + more
