About
Amanda Prifti
Photographer, Filmmaker, Co-Founder of SeaSisters Sri Lanka. Using creative mediums to raise awareness of global challenges, share stories of positive change and contribute to a more sustainable, just world. Working with nonprofits, social enterprises, conscious businesses and like-minded individuals.
Press
Contributor - Surfline, Magicseaweed, The Inertia, Eastern Surf Magazine, Atlantic Surf Magazine, Rambler Surf Magazine, Golden Ride Magazine, Oceanographic Magazine
2022 -‘Healed by Nature film block directors Stacy Bare, Amanda Prifti & Jess Kimera’, Coast Film Festival Q&A
2022 - ‘SeaSisters Founder Brings Distant Shores to Beach Haven Through Surf Photography, ‘SOLACE’ Screening’, The SandPaper
2022 - ‘There Was Some Kind of Energy Coming into My Heart’, Volume 262, Wavelength Magazine
2022 - ‘A SeaSister’s Journey’, 20th Anniversary Issue # 76 , Surfgirl Magazine
2022 - ‘Solace: A Surfer’s Journey During a Global Pandemic’, Surfgirl Magazine
2022 - ‘Solace: Surfing in the Face of A Global Pandemic’, Surf Session Mademoiselle
2021 - Photo Feature, Womens Surf Style Magazine
2021 - ‘Hurricane Larry in 11 Photos from Rockaway Beach, New York’, The Inertia
2020 - ‘SeaSisters Empowering Women through Surfing’, Kalukanda House
2020 - Photographer Feature, Surf Visuals
2019 - Photographer Feature, The Ocean is Female
Podcasts
2019 - The Oceanriders Podcast, Episode 33: Meet Amanda Prifti, Co-Founder of SeaSisters Sri Lanka and Surf Photographer
2019 - The Salted Spirit Podcast, How Sri Lankan Women are Changing their Destiny
Exhibitions
2022 - Solo, ‘Near and Far’, Ann Coen Pop-Up Gallery, Beach Haven, NJ
2022 - Solo, ‘From Land, Sea and Sky’, Kings Lens & Friends Gallery, Newport, RI
2021 - Solo, ‘East to West’, New York Women’s Surf Film Festival, Rockaway, NY
2021 - Group, ‘A Collection of Work from our Journey into Photography’, Hari Hari House, Sri Lanka
2019 - Group, ‘Autumn Slides’, Patagonia Bowery, NYC
2019 - Group, Madrid Surf Film Festival, Madrid, Spain
Awards
2022 - Nominee, Best Cinematography in a Short for Solace at Oceanside International Film Festival
2021 - Winner, ‘Pictures for Parity’ Grant, The International Surf Archive
2021 - Winner, Best Cinematography for Solace at Surfalorus Film Festival
2020 - Voted #6, Women's Top 100 Photographer Countdown, Surf Visuals
Bio
Raised in New England by two photographers, I was taught to see the world through my own unique perspective. But growing up, I never felt creative. Other kids had these wild imaginations, they'd dream and draw and play from a place in their minds that I hadn't found. I was structured, I liked practical, orderly things. I didn't think that was compatible with 'being creative'.
After completing an MSc in International Development, I was working to address the impacts of climate change in coastal areas of Southeast Asia. I was passionate about having a positive impact on the world, but was still searching for my place, what skills I was actually able to contribute. I felt like a little fish in a big sea.
Then, in 2018, I took a holiday to Sri Lanka where I discovered surfing, and inspired by the waves, vibrant culture and landscapes, I picked up a camera.
Turning chaos into clean frames and using shapes, textures and negative space to create order, I found what I had been searching for all along - my creativity. I realized that my structured, orderly mind is actually my strength, what defines me, both as a person and as an artist.
Merging my backgrounds, I use creativity as a tool for driving social impact. I love all aspects of the creative process and continue to be driven by my passion for contributing to a more sustainable, just world.
I am also the Co-Founder of SeaSisters Sri Lanka, a social enterprise focused on women’s empowerment and environmental awareness. Providing free swim and surf lessons to local women, we seek to change mindsets around gender roles and create new possibilities for women in Sri Lanka. You can learn more at www.seasisterslk.com.
Based in Portland, Oregon
Msc, International Development & Management (LUMID) - Lund University - Sweden
BA, International Affairs & Environmental Studies, minor in Social Entrepreneurship - Northeastern University - Boston, MA
