Stefan Schaefer is an American writer, director and producer of

films A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

Biography

Early life and education

Schaefer was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, spent his childhood in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and his adolescent years in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He studied acting and political theory at

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a private liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,650 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in one of more than 60 areas of study. History Sk ...

and

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

, from which he graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

. Following a year and a half in Germany—where he studied as a

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

—he returned to New York and co-founded the production company Cicala Filmworks. He is the maternal grandson of polar explorer and ornithologist Carl R. Eklund.

Career

Schaefer's films have premiered and won awards at festivals such as the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

and

SxSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

, among many others, and have been successfully 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

My Last Day Without You ''My Last Day Without You'' is an independent feature film starring Nicole Beharie and Ken Duken, and directed by Stefan Schaefer. It was written by Schaefer and Christoph Silber, and produced by Diane Crespo, Silber and Schaefer and their compan ...

, ''

The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela ''The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela'' is a 2008 drama film directed by Olaf de Fleur Johannesson. Premise Raquela, a Filipino transsexual prostitute dreams of making a new life in Paris. She becomes an Internet porn star and meets Valerie, ...

'', and ''

Arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...

''. On these and other projects he's worked with Academy Award winner

Melissa Leo Melissa Chessington Leo (born September 14, 1960) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and two Critics' Choice ...

Ali Larter Alison Elizabeth Larter (born February 28, 1976) is an American actress and model. She portrayed fictional model Allegra Coleman in a 1996 ''Esquire'' magazine hoax and took on guest roles on several television shows in the 1990s. She made he ...

Zoe Lister-Jones Zoe Lister-Jones (born September 1, 1982) is an American actress, and filmmaker who co-starred as Jen Collins Short in the CBS sitcom ''Life in Pieces'' from 2015 to 2019. She is also known for her roles in the television shows ''Delocated'' (20 ...

Ken Duken Ken Duken (born 17 April 1979) is a German actor and director. Early life Ken Duken is the third child of film and stage actress Christina Loeb; his father is a doctor. Duken never attended a drama school but took courses in drama, including un ...

Nicole Beharie Nicole Beharie is an American actress. She is best known for her starring roles in films such as the drama ''American Violet'' (2008), the psychological drama ''Shame (2011 film), Shame'' (2011), the biographical sports drama ''42 (film), 42'' ...

David Harbour David Kenneth Harbour (born April 10, 1975) is an American actor. He has played supporting roles in films such as ''Brokeback Mountain'' (2005), ''Quantum of Solace'' (2008), '' State of Play'' (2009), ''The Green Hornet'' (2011), ''End of W ...

Michael Imperioli Michael Imperioli (born March 26, 1966) is an American actor, writer, and musician. He is best known for his role as Christopher Moltisanti in the HBO crime drama ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), which earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Out ...

, and many more. In addition to these indie features, Schaefer and writing partner

Christoph Silber Christoph Silber (often credited as Chris Silber), born 26 April 1971 in Berlin, is a German-American author and filmmaker. Rated among "Europe's hottest new screenwriters" by ''Screen International'', Silber works and lives in the United States ...

wrote four TV movies for leading European networks ARD and ZDF, two of which filmed in Hawai’i. On the documentary front, 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 widely at environmental film festivals and aired as part of "The Green" series on the

Sundance Channel Sundance Channel can refer to: * Sundance TV, formerly known as Sundance Channel (United States). * Sundance Channel (Canada) * Sundance Channel (Netherlands) * Sundance Channel (Europe) Sundance Channel can refer to: * Sundance TV, formerly kno ...

. In 2015, he released a feature documentary on Poet Laureate and environmental activist

W.S. Merwin William Stanley Merwin (September 30, 1927 – March 15, 2019) was an American poet who wrote more than fifty books of poetry and prose, and produced many works in translation. During the 1960s anti-war movement, Merwin's unique craft was thema ...

, entitled " Even Though the Whole World Is Burning". A one-hour version of the film, " W.S. Merwin: To Plant a Tree", was broadcast nationally on PBS in 2016. Schaefer has developed and sold TV shows and films to

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainm ...

The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prior ...

AMC Networks AMC Networks Inc. is an American entertainment company headquartered in 11 Penn Plaza, New York. AMC Networks owns and operates the eponymous cable channel and its siblings, IFC, We TV, and Sundance TV; the art house movie theater IFC Cen ...

Mandeville Films Mandeville Films is an American film production company headquartered in Burbank, California. Founded in 1995 by film producer David Hoberman, the company re-formed as Mandeville Films and Television in 2002 after a short hiatus for three years, ...

, Big Beach and

Abominable Pictures Abominable Pictures is an American creator-driven comedy production company that develops and produces content for television, web and film. Output Producer Jonathan Stern founded Abominable in 2006 to produce the first season of internet cult-hit ...

. An active member of the

Writers Guild of America, East The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is a labor union representing writers in film, television, radio, news, and online media. The Writers Guild of America, East is affiliated with the Writers Guild of America West. Together the guilds admi ...

, he's managed by LA-based Industry Entertainment.

Filmography

Theatrical

* 2020/21 - Aloha Surf Hotel (writer/director/producer) * 2017 - Kuleana (producer/actor) * 2015 - Even Though the Whole World Is Burning (writer/director/producer) * 2012/13 -

(writer/director/producer) * 2011 - The Roundup (short) (writer/director/producer) * 2011 - Get a Job (producer/actor) * 2009 -

The Hungry Ghosts ''The Hungry Ghosts'' is a 2009 American dramatic film written and directed by Michael Imperioli. The film marked his directorial feature debut. Plot Matthew (Emory Cohen) is a teenage boy in New York who attends therapy with his father Frank (S ...

(producer/actor) * 2008 - The Higher Force (writer/producer/actor) * 2008 -

(writer/producer/actor) * 2007 -

(writer/director/producer) * 2006 - Act Normal (2006) (co-producer) * 2006 - Contested Streets (director/producer/editor) * 2005 -

Confess A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...

(writer/director)

Television

* 2018 - I Am Because You Are (writer/director/producer) * 2016 - Surf Break Hotel (writer/director/producer) * 2016 - W.S. Merwin: To Plant a Tree (writer/director/producer) * 2015 - Blue Water Living / Blauwasserleben (writer) * 2013 - The Paradise Within / Das Paradies in uns (writer) * 2013 - To Love, Let Go / Wer liebt, lässt los (writer) * 2012 - First Lady / Nicht mit mir, Liebling (writer) * 2009 - Circledrawers (co-creator/producer/actor)

Awards and nominations

* 2022 - Individual Artist Grant from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

and the

Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts The Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts was established by the Hawaii State Legislature in 1965 to "promote, perpetuate, preserve, and encourage culture and the arts, history and the humanities as central to the quality of life of the ...

. * 2021 - Hawaii Film Critics Society: Best Hawaii Feature Film Aloha Surf Hotel (nominated) * 2020 -

Hawaii International Film Festival The Hawai'i International Film Festival (HIFF) is an annual film festival held in the United States state of Hawaii. HIFF has a focus on Asian-Pacific cinema, education, and the work of new and emerging filmmakers. HIFF’s primary festival is h ...

: Made-in Hawaii Best Feature Aloha Surf Hotel (nominated) * 2018 - Writer-in-Residence, Can Cab Literary Residence * 2018 -

Maui Film Festival The Maui Film Festival is a film festival held annually on the island of Maui, Hawaii. It was founded in 2000 by Barry Rivers. Past attendees include Bryan Cranston, Freida Pinto, Connie Britton, and Pierce Brosnan The Maui Film Festival is nic ...

: Best Hawaiian Short Film I Am Because You Are * 2012 -

Black Reel Awards The Black Reel Awards, or BRAs, is an annual American awards ceremony hosted by the Foundation for the Augmentation of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF) to recognize excellence of African Americans, as well as the cinematic achievements of the Afr ...

: Best Original Song

(nominated) * 2012 -

: Best Independent Feature Film

* 2011 -

Brooklyn International Film Festival The Brooklyn Film Festival (BFF), prior to 2011 called the Brooklyn International Film Festival (BiFF) is an independent film festival held every June in Brooklyn, New York. Started by Marco Ursino, Susan Mackell, Abe Schrager, and Mario Pegoraro ...

: Best Producer

* 2011 -

Big Island Film Festival The Big Island Film Festival is a film festival held at the Mauna Lani Resort on the Kohala Coast on the Big Island of Hawaii. The festival, which has been held every May between 2006 and 2016, features short and feature films by independent filmma ...

: Audience Choice Award ''Get A Job'' * 2008 -

Teddy Award The Teddy Award is an international film award for films with LGBT topics, presented by an independent jury as an official award of the Berlin International Film Festival (the Berlinale). In the most part, the jury consists of organisers of gay a ...

for Best Feature Film '

'' * 2008 - Skip City Int'l Film Festival: Grand Prize, $100,000 award for Best Film ''Arranged'' * 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'' * 2005 - Best Screenwriter

Hamptons International Film Festival The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) is an international film festival founded in 1992, by Joyce Robinson. The festival has since taken place every year in East Hampton, New York. It is usually an annual five-day event in mid-October a ...

, ''

'' * 2004 - Grand Prize in Digital Filmmaking from Apple and Panasonic * 2004 - Writer-in-Residence,

Omi International Arts Center Art Omi, formerly Omi International Arts Center, is a non-profit international arts organization located in Columbia County in Ghent, New York. The organization provides residencies for writers, artists, architects, musicians, dancers and chor ...

* 2003 -

New York Foundation for the Arts The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is an independent 501(c)(3) charity, funded through government, foundation, corporate, and individual support, established in 1971. It is part of a network of national not-for-profit arts organizations ...

Fellowship in Screenwriting * 2002 - Berlin Talents,

* 1995 -

References

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

External links

*

official personal website
''Variety'' review of film ''Arranged''
Dec. 13, 2007. Accessed 2008-04-22.
"Arranged Wins Skip City"

official website for film "Arranged"

official website for film "My Last Day Without You"

official website for web-series "Circledrawers"

official website for film "Get A Job"

official website for production company "Cicala Filmworks"

official website for production company "Silver Shepherd"

official website for "Even Though The Whole World is Burning"

official website for "W.S. Merwin: To Plant a Tree" {{DEFAULTSORT:Schaefer, Stefan 1971 births Living people Writers from Boston American film directors Wesleyan University alumni Waldorf school alumni American male writers