Amanda Kasmira "Kazzy" Cryer is an award-winning filmmaker, impact content creator, global ambassador, and keynote speaker. With over two decades in the film industry and fifteen years in social impact, she works at the intersection of storytelling and systems change. She serves as Chief Global Ambassador for GetBundi, an organization bringing STEM education to marginalized children — especially girls, internally displaced students, and disabled youth — across Africa. She also sits on advisory councils for the National Incarceration Association (NIA) and the Global Youth Forum, and serves as an impact advisor for Footboz.
As a filmmaker, her short documentary Living UN DONE has garnered 22 awards worldwide, including Best Impact Director at the World Culture Film Festival, Best Documentary Short at the Paris Art and Movie Awards, two Gold Telly Awards, and the two Jury Awards at Atlanta DocuFest and ETHOS film festival, respectively. The film was also nominated in four categories at the Indie Shorts Fest (Los Angeles) and won the Outstanding Achievement Award for Short Documentary Film. It screened and competed at the SOHO film festival in NYC and completed its global festival run in December 2025, winning the Audience Choice Award at the Atlanta Underground Film Festival. The film is now being developed into a feature and limited series. Her earlier work includes projects that were sold to Showtime and time spent at Vertigo Entertainment, the production company behind The Departed, It, and Doctor Sleep.
As a producer, EP, and consultant, she has contributed to multiple award-winning films such as Luz: The Flower of Evil and Lord of Catan. Amanda has worked alongside UN leaders, Nobel Peace Prize recipients, CEOs, and change-makers to amplify their impact. She has been recognized as a Top Social Impact Influencer by LA Weekly, a Top 250 LinkedIn Influencer, and a Top Global Thought Leader by Excellence Talks. In 2025, she was featured in the bestselling book Top 50 Fearless Leaders.
After being diagnosed with multiple brain tumors, MS, POTS, FND, C-PTSD, and other chronic conditions, Amanda spent years largely bedridden. She now uses her platform to share her journey with invisible illnesses, reduce stigma, and inspire resilience. A passionate advocate for criminal justice reform, animal rights, environmental causes, and veterans’ rights, she mentors survivors of sex trafficking with BELOVED and supports numerous organizations, including the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Barn Sanctuary, Animal Save Movement, Safe Bae, The Trevor Project, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, TWLOHA, and the National Incarceration Association. Amanda is committed to uniting humanity and creating an ecocentric world. Her messages of unity, dignity, compassion, and equity have been featured in LA Weekly, Yahoo Finance, Inc. Magazine, Forbes, and The Guardian Nigeria.
Amanda Kasmira Cryer
Filmmaker/Creator/Global Ambassador
Growing up in Canada, what sparked your humanitarian interests?
Growing up in Canada, our family’s income went up and down. There were times we were comfortable, and other times we struggled with poverty and homelessness. I was badly bullied in grades 7, 9, and 12, and because we came from a lower-income, broken home — with my single mom and single dad raising me at different times — I often felt looked down on, especially when I saw friends with new clothes or nicer things. Those experiences were painful. But what stayed with me even more was how diverse my friend group was. We came from all different cultures, races, religions, and ethnicities, yet I never felt any “us versus them” divide between us. That beautiful sense of community and equality, even through my own struggles, sparked my deep passion for unity and humanitarian work.
How did you get into the world of filmmaking?
I started my journey in Vancouver, as a kid acting out my dreams at Carousel Theater and Arts Umbrella Theater. Then, as a teenager, taking acting classes for years with June Whitaker, who had been an understudy of Sanford Meisner. She became one of my greatest mentors and dearest friends. At 18, I flew to Los Angeles and began learning the producing side of filmmaking in my early twenties. I also continued my acting training with the late Bruce Glover, who became both my manager and a very close friend. My first produced film sold to Showtime when I was 25. In 2005, I was living in New Orleans and got caught in Hurricane Katrina. My dog and I were trapped on the highway for 17 hours trying to escape to Houston — a drive that normally takes just 5 or 6 hours. We eventually made it safely to Houston. After that experience, I returned to Los Angeles, then spent a year back in Vancouver working at Bardel Entertainment, an animation production company. When I returned to LA, I independently produced several short films, contributed as a producer to the award-winning films Luz: The Flower of Evil and Lord of Catan, and from 2009 to 2012 worked with Native American actors — including Twilight alumni — to raise awareness about water infrastructure issues affecting Indigenous communities. All of these experiences shaped my path from acting into producing, directing, and creating films with real social impact.
Tell us about your directorial debut film Living UN DONE?
Living UN DONE is my directorial debut, a short documentary that explores the U.S. criminal justice system and the need for real restoration and reform. I created it while living with multiple invisible health conditions, including a brain tumor, POTS, C-PTSD, and anxiety. The film has gone on to win 22 awards globally, including two Telly Awards, and it’s now being developed into a full feature film and limited series. It’s been one of the most meaningful projects of my life.
What advocacy programs that you support should people be aware of?
I’m especially proud to serve as a mentor with BELOVED, which provides a two-year restoration program for survivors of sex trafficking. I’m also Chief Global Ambassador for GetBundi, an organization bringing STEM and digital education to girls and other marginalized children across Africa. I also sit on advisory councils for the National Incarceration Association (NIA) and Global Youth Forum, and I’m deeply involved with animal welfare, mental health, Veteran's well-being and peace organizations.
What are you working on next that you can share?
Right now, I’m focused on developing Living UN DONE into a feature film and limited series under a new title. Because we’re under strict NDAs, there’s not much more I can share about it at this time. My producing partner, Carole Joyce and I are also in post production on a feature documentary I directed. Additionally, I'm producing a powerful short film with Carole Joyce about a man’s final hour on death row. Morgen Ludwig will direct his own script, with Josh Datant Villareal starring as the lead. The film is co-produced by Marcello Cacioppo and will be scored by Alicia Sutedja and Josh Datant. I’m continuing my ambassador and advisory work, and as an impact strategist I continuously create content on LinkedIn and Instagram that helps turn divisive conversations into co-creative dialogue that can actually create real change in communication and media. I also write about entrepreneurship (in my case as an independent filmmaker) through the lens of resilience and social impact. Living with invisible health conditions, I believe it's important to challenge outdated business models, helping leaders build ventures that prioritize human health, creating meaningful long-term impact for society and the planet.
What do you miss most about home?
I miss the warmth and sense of community in Canada the most. Even during the harder times, there was always this underlying feeling that we were all in it together, no matter our background, income, or family situation. I also miss my brother Sean and a few dear friends that I've known pretty much my entire life, Sharen, Zoe, Emily, Mark and Alexis, Kyle, and Mike (and others). They always make an effort to come visit with me, no matter where I am, whenever I'm in town. That always feels like a special homecoming.
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