Sean Hartofilis was born on July 9, 1981, at Nyack Hospital, to Mary Walls, an Irish immigrant who moved to New York City at 18 to work as a maid, and George Hartofilis, a son of Greek immigrants. Sean grew up on Long Island with his brothers Nick, Chris, and Mike.
Sean attended Saint Anthony's High School and later Princeton University, where he majored in Politics, became an All-American and National Champion lacrosse player, studied filmmaking under Sue Friedrich and Keith Sanborn, and met his future wife Liza Hillenbrand.
After graduating in 2003, Sean moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as a film director's assistant, a film producer's assistant, and coached lacrosse at Loyola High School while playing professionally for the Los Angeles Riptide. He continued to work on films and his first feature script, Beach Pillows, was optioned by Iron Films and subsequently Reason Pictures.
When the option on Beach Pillows expired, Sean returned to New York, cast a star-studded cast, launched Walls Farms Pictures, and produced the film. He directed, edited, and secured a soundtrack from popular rock bands Deer Tick and The Deadly Syndrome. Beach Pillows won the Amsterdam Film Festival's Van Gogh World Cinema Screenwriting Award and premiered at the Lighthouse International Film Festival, before being distributed by Gravitas Ventures and subsequently on Blu-ray and DVD by Films Around the World.
Sean's second feature film, Covadonga, which he wrote, directed, edited, starred in, and wrote and performed an original soundtrack, screened at festivals in Spain, Ireland, England, and the United States, winning numerous awards along the way. It is now available worldwide.
Between July 9, 2021, and July 8, 2022, Sean released three rock and roll albums: Trees, Seas, and Soiul.
Sean has also written, directed, produced, and edited assorted projects for brands and networks, including Macy's, Pfizer, The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Greenlight Energy, Howl Alert, J. Walter Thompson, Porter Novelli, The Huffington Post, Good Magazine, MTV, VH1, The History Channel, William Hill Sportsbook, and Caesars.
Sean is an American and Irish citizen and lives in Connecticut with his wife Liza and their children Sloan, Roan, and Francis Finn.
