Sue Vicory

Business career

In 1987, Vicory joined her family business, W. F. Norman Corporation in Nevada, Missouri, serving as co-owner and vice president of the company, which was founded in 1898.^[4]

Film career

Vicory entered filmmaking in 2002 after attending the New York Film Academy.^[2] Her first film, Homelessness & the Power of One, premiered in 2005 and examined homelessness in multiple U.S. cities, raising more than $200,000 for shelters. The film received numerous awards and was followed by related educational and community initiatives, including the My Power of One project in urban high schools.^[5]

In 2003, she founded Heartland Films, Inc., focusing on community-based and socially engaged projects.^[6]

Vicory directed and produced the feature documentary Kansas City Jazz & Blues: Past, Present & Future, which premiered at the Gem Theater and later aired on KCPT and KTWU.^[7] She also released 1898: The W. F. Norman Story, documenting her family’s historic manufacturing company.^[8]

Her feature documentary One explored themes of global humanity and personal impact and won a Telly Award. In the same year, she completed the narrative short Absent, which won an audience award at its San Diego premiere and later received a Telly Award.^[2]

In 2015, Vicory founded Team XX, an all-female filmmaking team that produced the short film Down Stage, nominated for a San Diego film award and winner of a 2016 Telly Award.^[9] She also produced the pilot for the web series My Power of One and later directed the eight-part series Finding Freedom Within.^[6]

In 2016, Vicory undertook a year-long, 48-state tour titled My Power of One – 12 Acts of Kindness, producing community projects and raising funds for nonprofit organizations across the United States.^[10][11]

She served as an associate producer on the reality television series Win Place Show, which aired on TVG Network.^[12]

Her feature documentary Original Jayhawker premiered in 2021, was nominated for an Emmy Award, won a Telly Award in 2022, and raised more than $30,000 for a community splash-park project at its premiere. The film later aired on KTWU and Kansas City PBS.^{[13][14][15][16]}

Vicory has also executive produced and co-produced a range of narrative, documentary, and music-related projects, including Panic at Parq, The Last Butterflies, Cultivating Kindness (Telly Award winner), and the feature documentary A Beautiful Place, which is in post-production.^[2]

Vicory is the creator and host of the podcast series The Wizard of One (launched in 2022), featuring interviews with individuals from across the United States.^[5]

Vicory has served as a judge for both regional and national Emmy Awards. She is a member of the Alliance of Women Directors and serves on the Board of Advisors of the San Diego Film Consortium.^[3]

She has appeared as a panelist and moderator at major industry events, including the Sundance Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival festival cannes france and the French Riviera Film Festival, as well as multiple women-focused film industry panels in the United States and abroad.^[17]

Vicory received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Washburn University, and the San Diego Film Awards established the Sue Vicory Women in Film Award in her honor.^[3]