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Stefan Schaefer (born August 17, 1971) is an American writer, director and producer of films and television.
Stefan Schaefer | |
|---|---|
 Schaefer in 2015 | |
| Born | Stefan Schaefer August 17, 1971 Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Education | Wesleyan University (BA) University of Kiel (Fulbright Scholar) |
| Occupations | |
| Spouse | Chenta Laury |
| Children | 2 |
Biography
editEarly life and education
editSchaefer was born in Boston. He spent his childhood in Sussex, England, and his teenage years in Michigan and New York. He studied theater and political theory at Wesleyan University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. After a year and a half in Germany 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.[2]
Career
editSchaefer's films have premiered and won several awards at festivals such as the Berlin International Film Festival and SXSW,[3]and have been released theatrically and via outlets such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO, PBS, and the Sundance Channel.[4]
He has over fifteen feature film credits and has worked with Melissa Leo, Ali Larter, Zoe Lister-Jones, Ken Duken, Nicole Beharie, David Harbour, and Michael Imperioli. In addition to indie features, Schaefer and writing partner Chris Silber[5] have written four TV movies for European networks ARD and ZDF, two of which were filmed in Hawaii.[6]
Schaefer directed the one-hour television documentary Contested Streets,[7] which looks at what New York can learn from London, Paris and Copenhagen in terms of organizing its streets and public spaces. The film was screened at environmental film festivals and aired as part of "The Green" series on the Sundance Channel.[8] In 2015, he released a feature documentary on Poet Laureate and environmental activist W.S. Merwin, titled Even Though the Whole World Is Burning.[9] A one-hour version of the film, W.S. Merwin: To Plant a Tree, was broadcast on PBS in 2016.
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Credit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Confess | Director/writer | |
| 2006 | Act Normal | Co-producer | |
| Contested Streets | Director/producer/editor | Documentary | |
| 2007 | Arranged[10] | Director/writer/producer | |
| 2008 | The Higher Force | Writer/producer/actor | |
| The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela | Writer/producer/actor | ||
| 2009 | The Hungry Ghosts | Producer/actor | |
| 2011 | The Roundup | Director/writer/producer | Short film |
| Get a Job[11] | Producer/actor | ||
| My Last Day Without You[12] | Director/writer/producer | ||
| 2014 | Even Though the Whole World Is Burning | Director/writer/producer | Documentary |
| 2017 | Kuleana | Producer/actor | |
| 2020 | Aloha Surf Hotel[13] | Director/writer/producer | |
| 2023 | Viral | Director/co-writer/producer | Short film |
| 2024 | Grit & Gratitude: The Sig Anderman Story | Director/writer/producer | Documentary |
| Year | Title | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Circledrawers[14] | Co-creator/producer/actor |
| 2012 | First Lady / Nicht mit mir, Liebling | Writer |
| 2013 | The Paradise Within / Das Paradies in uns | Writer |
| To Love, Let Go / Wer liebt, lässt los | Writer | |
| 2015 | Bluewater: Nightmare in Paradise / Blauwasserleben | Writer |
| 2016 | Surf Break Hotel | Director/writer/producer |
| W.S. Merwin: To Plant a Tree | Director/writer/producer | |
| 2018 | I Am Because You Are | Director/writer/producer |
Awards and nominations
editThis section needs additional citations for verification. (June 2024) |
- 2003 – Berlin Talents, Berlin International Film Festival[15]
- 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[16]
- 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[17]
- 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[18]
- 2011 – Brooklyn International Film Festival: Best Producer My Last Day Without You[19]
- 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[20]
References
edit- ^ Cicala Filmworks, retrieved 2011-03-22
- ^ "Eklund's Antarctic". www.karinschaefer.com. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ Ankrum, Nora (March 9, 2007). "Looking More Closely When Others Look Away". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
- ^ "A Little Confession is Good for the Soul: An Interview with Writer/Dir". Writers Store. 2020-11-24. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
- ^ Rotterdam Film Festival. "The Hungry Ghosts".
- ^ Die Stimme Berlins. "Blauwasserleben: Wie eine Traumreise zum Albtraum wurde".
- ^ Schaefer, Stefan C. (2006-06-27), Contested Streets (Documentary), Majora Carter, Kenneth Jackson, Robert R. Kiley, Cicala Filmworks, retrieved 2024-10-15
- ^ "Sundance Channel Does Transportation". Sustainablog.
- ^ Huffington Post. "Watching the World Burn with Merwin".
- ^ Bennett, Bruce (2007-12-14). "Break On Through To The Other Side". Archived from the original on June 20, 2008.
- ^ Chatenlever, Rick (April 2010). "Get A Job in the movie biz". Archived from the original on April 26, 2010.
- ^ "Cameras Set To Roll on US-German Romance My Last Day Without You". 2010-06-22. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
- ^ Subiono, R (2023-10-05). "Maui screenwriter welcomes new union deal as 148-day strike ends". Archived from the original on February 21, 2024.
- ^ Mack, R (2009-06-10). "Angels Walk Amongst Us in Web-Series 'Circledrawers'". Archived from the original on June 12, 2009.
- ^ "Berlinale Talents - Stefan Schaefer". Berlinale Talents. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
- ^ "2005 Hamptons International Film Festival award winners". IMDb.
- ^ "IMDb.com Brooklyn International Film Festival 2007 award winners". IMDb.
- ^ Skip City. "Results".
- ^ "Brooklyn International Film Festival 2011 award winners". IMDb.
- ^ SFCA grantee spotlight. "Viral".