Amanda’s professional work in the mental health field and client advocacy combined with her acting and choreography experience have equipped her with a unique skillset as an Intimacy Coordinator.
She’s also a Certified Yoga and Meditation Instructor with the gift of grounding those around her in a seemingly effortless way. Her confidence and calm, even when facing sensitive and taboo topics, instill the same in actors, directors and crew.
Intimate moments between actors deserve to be treated with the same thoughtful planning and attention as fight scenes.
A director wouldn’t tell actors with dueling swords to “just go for it” and intimate moments onset shouldn’t be treated as such either.
Boundaries around body parts, choreography to obtain the desired shot, and the empowerment to say “stop” combine under Amanda’s care to create the best work possible from everyone involved.
Amanda’s IC training is international. She’s certified by Intimacy Professionals Association and has studied further under the expert hands at Intimacy Directors and Coordinators, Theatrical Intimacy Education, Intimacy Coordinators of Color, Intimacy for Stage and Screen (including consultation with
You can see some of Amanda Edward’s credits on her IMDb page or visit the credits page for more!
It was a delightful experience having Amanda be the intimacy coordinator for my show ZARYN. She is thoughtful, provided excellent resources, and her priority of making sure the actors were comfortable and aware of themselves and scene partners was incredible to watch. I learned a lot from her.
Nadiya Jackson
What is an Intimacy Coordinator?
For film and TV, an Intimacy Coordinator’s job is to work with a production (film, television, print, or stage), to assist in the facilitation of a scene or scenes that have intimate content or nudity.
Sometimes they’re part of the crew from the very beginning, meeting with the production team and department heads to support the development of the vision of the directors, to share knowledge and applicable industry guidelines.
Alternatively, an IC may come in and run a workshop with the actors and director to facilitate rapport, healthy boundaries, and comfort for all parties.
Other times, an Intimacy Coordinator will be called on set or into rehearsals for one or more specific scenes that require nudity or other intimacy.
Intimacy Coordinators serve as advocates for actors and other team members: voicing concerns and boundaries while problem solving to find solutions for challenges as they arise. They are experts at facilitating challenging conversations: consulting and collaborating with directors, actors, wardrobe, and other elements of production.
That sounds like the fun police…
At first glance, it may seem as though an Intimacy Coordinator would be the “wet blanket”, taking all the fun out of shooting racy material.
What’s actually true about having a qualified Intimacy Professional on your set is that moments of intimacy become more fun!
Think about actors navigating one another’s bodies and intimate space like playing on a playground. Before playing safely, and in order to have the best time, you have to build an awesome playground, right?
It’s the Intimacy Coordinator’s job to establish an overall vision for the playground with the director. From there, the IC works with actors to establish what types of slides, monkey bars, and rock climbing walls feel safe and fun for them (and their characters!).
Finally, the IC reviews all the incredible playground equipment with everyone and sets a few ground rules for safety. From there, everyone is free to play! And this play feels way more fun (and reads as much more real, genuine, and honest for the camera too)!
It’s Not Just About Sex Though!
Intimacy is, at its core, closeness with another being. When we think about the #MeToo movement (which essentially brought about the realization that there was a need for Intimacy Coordinators in the first place), we think of ICs being important for simulated sex and nudity on set but there is far more intimacy on screen than just the sexy stuff.
In the time of COVID-19, even the simple act of breathing the same air in close proximity to a human outside of your family bubble feels like an intimate act.
An Intimacy Coordinator can be helpful to choreograph and cultivate moments of non-sexual intimacy in film and television. This can include sweet, tender moments between friends and family as well as moments of intense fear or violence between loved ones.
When an IC establishes boundaries with actors, this can include their comfort level in participating during scenes of domestic violence and/or assault (i.e. “I am okay with her yelling at me in this scene but no closer to my face than six inches” or “He can throw something my direction but it must be aimed toward my left side”).
When actors feel safe personally because these boundaries have been established, they can perform at a higher level professionally – it’s a win win!
Recently, there has been a call for Intimacy Coordinators to work in scenes of childbirth and breastfeeding. With an IC onset, labor and delivery and breastfeeding scenes can deliver the emotion needed to propel the story forward without feeling exploitive, unrealistic or unnecessary.
This feature film was the first I had ever worked on that had any sort of intimate scenes, and that can be scary going into when you’re not sure how all of it works. Amanda, from the moment that I signed onto the film, was there to explain everything and it put my mind at ease knowing that our boundaries and comfort were the #1 priority. Amanda not only cares about how you feel throughout intimate scenes, but any scenes that may be difficult and emotionally draining. She made the entire cast and crew feel safe, cared for, and heard, and it was an absolute honor to work with her!
