Sean Paul Murphy was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. He graduated from Towson University with a major in Mass Communications and a minor in English, with a Concentration in Writing. After college he worked at Smith Burke & Azzam, a hot regional advertising agency, as a broadcast producer and occasional copywriter.
Sean left the agency to pursue work as a freelance film editor, cutting television commercials, rock videos and cable network shows. He also signed with the late Stu Robinson of Robinson Weintraub and Gross, later Paradigm, as a screenwriter. His early work brought him letters of praise from Academy-Award winners like Barry Levinson and the late Richard Zanuck.
Sean’s first produced film was an innovative mystery called “21 Eyes,” starring Academy Award winner Fisher Stevens (“The Cove”) and Rebecca Mader (“Lost.”) The film was released by Vanguard Cinema and has been called “sleek, stylish and cunning” and “a courageous, absorbing and unique piece of indie film making.”
Sean’s next produced film was the faith-based drama “Hidden Secrets,” starring John Schneider (“The Dukes of Hazard.”) Released by the Weinstein Company, the film was a Top 10 CBA seller and enjoyed limited theatrical release. The success of that film led to commissions to write more faith-based productions including “Holyman Undercover,” “Sarah’s Choice,” “Run On,” “The Encounter,” “Marriage Retreat,” “Brother White,” “The Encounter: Paradise Lost,” “Revelation Road: The Beginning of the End,” “Revelation Road: The Sea of Glass and Fire,” and the upcoming “Open My Eyes” and “Revelation Road 3.”
Sean might be best known for his award-winning work with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Counter Intelligence Division. His film “Betrayed” recently won an Emmy, and his controversial docudrama “Game of Pawns,” has been featured on network news shows and garnered him interviews with news outlets from NPR’s “All Things Considered” to the BBC.
Sean is also a winner of the prestigious the $50,000 Kairos Prize for Spiritually Uplifting Screenplays in 2012. His original screenplay, “Desecrated,” was a semi-finalist in the Slamdance Horror Competition. His feature-length film “Sacred Ground: The Battle For Mount Auburn Cemetery” was recently voted Best Documentary at the Churches Making Movies Film Festival. He has also written numerous award-winning short comedies.
Sacred Ground: The Battle For Mount Auburn Cemetery
(
Documentary
by Restoration Films
writer/producer/editor
Revelation Road: The Beginning of the End
(
Film
by PureFlix Entertainment
writer
Revelation Road 2: The Sea of Glass and Fire
(
Film
by PureFlix Entertainment
writer
The Encounter: Paradise Lost
(
Drama
by PureFlix Entertainment
writer
Brother White
(
Television
by UPtv
writer/creator
Marriage Retreat
(
Film
by PureFlix Entertainment
writer/editor
Run On
(
Video
by PureFlix Entertainment
writer
Holyman Undercover
(
Film
by EMI
writer/producer/editor
The Encounter
(
Drama
by PureFlix Entertainment
writer/producer/editor
Sarah's Choice
(
Drama
by EMI
writer/producer/editor
Hidden Secrets
(
Drama
by Genius Products
writer
21 Eyes
(
Film
by Vanguard Cinema
writer/editor
Best Documentary -- Churches Making Movies Festival ("Sacred Ground")
(2013)
Emmy - Best Cinematography ("Betrayed")
(2013)
$50,000 Kairos Prize for Spiritually Uplifting Screenplays ("I, John")
(2012)
TIVA Peer Award - Best Docudrama ("Betrayed")
(2012)
TIVA Peer Awards - Scriptwriting, Fiction, Short, Under 70 minutes ("Betrayed")
(2011)
Semi-Finalist, Slamdance Horror Competition ("Desecrated")
(2007)
Audience Prize, 168 Hour Film Project, Los Angeles, CA. ("Bag")
(2007)
The 48 Hour Film Festival, Best Film, Panasonic HD Filmmaker Showdown ("Maestro Percival")
(2007)
The 48 Hour Film Festival/Baltimore, Best Writing ("I Will Not")
(2006)