Stefan Schaefer
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Stefan Schaefer is an American writer, director and producer of films and television.
Stefan Schaefer | |
|---|---|
| Born | Stefan Schaefer August 17, 1971 Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Education | Wesleyan University (BA) University of Kiel (Fulbright Scholar) |
| Occupation(s) | writer, director, producer |
| Spouse | Chenta Laury |
| Children | 2 |
Biography edit
Early life and education edit
Schaefer was born in Boston, spent his childhood in Sussex, England and his adolescent years in Michigan and New York. He studied theater and political theory at Wesleyan University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. Following a year and a half in Germany—where he studied as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Kiel—he returned to New York and co-founded the production company Cicala Filmworks.[1]
He is the maternal grandson of polar explorer and ornithologist Carl R. Eklund.
Career edit
Schaefer's films have premiered and won awards at festivals such as the Berlin International Film Festival and SxSW, among many others, and have been released theatrically and via outlets such as NetFlix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO, PBS and the Sundance Channel.
He has over fifteen feature film credits to his name, among them Arranged, My Last Day Without You, The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela, and Aloha Surf Hotel. On these and other projects he's worked with Melissa Leo, Ali Larter, Zoe Lister-Jones, Ken Duken, Nicole Beharie, David Harbour, and Michael Imperioli.[2] In addition to these indie features, Schaefer and writing partner Chris Silber wrote four TV movies for European networks ARD and ZDF, two of which filmed in Hawai’i.[3]
Schaefer directed the one-hour television documentary Contested Streets, which looks at what New York can learn from London, Paris and Copenhagen in terms of organizing its streets and public spaces. The film screened at environmental film festivals and aired as part of "The Green" series on the Sundance Channel.[4] In 2015, he released a feature documentary on Poet Laureate and environmental activist W.S. Merwin, entitled Even Though the Whole World Is Burning.[5] A one-hour version of the film, W.S. Merwin: To Plant a Tree, was broadcast nationwide on PBS in 2016.
Filmography edit
Theatrical edit
- 2005 - Confess (writer/director)
- 2006 - Act Normal (2006) (co-producer)
- 2006 - Contested Streets (director/producer/editor)
- 2007 - Arranged (writer/director/producer)
- 2008 - The Higher Force (writer/producer/actor)
- 2008 - The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela (writer/producer/actor)
- 2009 - The Hungry Ghosts (producer/actor)
- 2011 - The Roundup (short) (writer/director/producer)
- 2011 - Get a Job (producer/actor)
- 2012/13 - My Last Day Without You (writer/director/producer)
- 2015 - Even Though the Whole World Is Burning (writer/director/producer)
- 2017 - Kuleana (producer/actor)
- 2020/21 - Aloha Surf Hotel (writer/director/producer)
- 2023 - Viral (short) (co-writer/director/producer)
- 2024 - Grit & Gratitude: The Sig Anderman Story (writer/director/producer)
Television edit
- 2009 - Circledrawers (co-creator/producer/actor)
- 2012 - First Lady / Nicht mit mir, Liebling (writer)
- 2013 - The Paradise Within / Das Paradies in uns (writer)
- 2013 - To Love, Let Go / Wer liebt, lässt los (writer)
- 2015 - Blue Water Living / Blauwasserleben (writer)
- 2016 - Surf Break Hotel (writer/director/producer)
- 2016 - W.S. Merwin: To Plant a Tree (writer/director/producer)
- 2018 - I Am Because You Are (writer/director/producer)
Awards and nominations edit
- 2002 - Berlin Talents, Berlin International Film Festival
- 2003 - New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Screenwriting
- 2004 - Grand Prize in Digital Filmmaking from Apple and Panasonic
- 2004 - Writer-in-Residence, Omi International Arts Center
- 2005 - Best Screenwriter Hamptons International Film Festival, Confess
- 2007 - Washington Jewish Film Festival: Audience Award Arranged
- 2007 - Berkshire Int'l Film Festival: Audience Award Arranged
- 2007 - Brooklyn Int'l Film Festival: Best Film Arranged
- 2008 - Berlin International Film Festival: Teddy Award for Best Feature Film 'The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela
- 2008 - Skip City Int'l Film Festival: Grand Prize, $100,000 award for Best Film Arranged[6]
- 2011 - Brooklyn International Film Festival: Best Producer My Last Day Without You
- 2011 - Big Island Film Festival: Audience Choice Award Get A Job
- 2012 - Black Reel Awards: Best Original Song My Last Day Without You (nominated)
- 2012 - Black Reel Awards: Best Independent Feature Film My Last Day Without You
- 2018 - Writer-in-Residence, [an Cab Literary Residence]
- 2018 - Maui Film Festival: Best Hawaiian Short Film I Am Because You Are
- 2020 - Hawaii International Film Festival: Made-in Hawaii Best Feature Aloha Surf Hotel (nominated)
- 2021 - Hawaii Film Critics Society: Best Hawaii Feature Film Aloha Surf Hotel (nominated)
- 2022 - Individual Artist Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.[7]
References edit
- ^ Cicala Filmworks, retrieved 2011-03-22
- ^ Rotterdam Film Festival. "The Hungry Ghosts".
- ^ Die Stimme Berlins. "Blauwasserleben: Wie eine Traumreise zum Albtraum wurde".
- ^ "Sundance Channel Does Transportation". Sustainablog.
- ^ Huffington Post. "Watching the World Burn with Merwin".
- ^ Skip City. "Results".
- ^ SFCA grantee spotlight. "Viral".
^ Miller, B (2007-12-14). "Break On Through To The Other Side".
^ Scheib, R (2007-12-13). "Arranged Film Review". Variety.
^ Mack, R (2009-06-10). "Angels Walk Amongst Us in Web-Series 'Circledrawers'".
^ Weinburg, S (March 2007). "SxSW '07 Interview "Arranged" Directors Stefan Schaefer & Diane Crespo".
^ Chatenlever, Rick (April 2010). "Get A Job in the movie biz".
^ "Cameras Set To Roll on US-German Romance My Last Day Without You". 2010-06-22.
^ Gordon, M (February 2016). "Comedy On Maui To Feature Has-Been Surf Character".
^ Gordon, M (April 2016). "Hollywood Looks to Maui".
^ Subiono, R (2021-10-21). "'Aloha Surf Hotel' director on the local film scene".
^ Subiono, R (2023-10-05). "Maui screenwriter welcomes new union deal as 148-day strike ends".