Stefan Schaefer
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Stefan Schaefer | |
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![]() Schaefer in 2015 | |
Born | Stefan Schaefer August 17, 1971 Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Education | Wesleyan University (BA) University of Kiel (Fulbright Scholar) |
Occupations | |
Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
Spouse | Chenta Laury |
Children | 2 |
Stefan Schaefer (born August 17, 1971) is an American writer, director, and producer of films and television.
Biography
[edit]Early life and education
[edit]Schaefer was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He spent his early 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. After spending 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][3]
Career
[edit]His films have been premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and SXSW,[4] with releases on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO, PBS, and the Sundance Channel.[5]
He has worked on films with actors such as Melissa Leo, Ali Larter, Zoe Lister-Jones, Ken Duken, Nicole Beharie, David Harbour, and Michael Imperioli. Schaefer, along with writer Chris Silber,[6] has written TV movies for European networks ARD and ZDF, two of which were filmed in Hawaii.[7]
Schaefer also directed the television documentary Contested Streets,[8] which examined the streets and public spaces in New York City compared to those in London, Paris, and Copenhagen. The documentary screened at environmental film festivals and aired as part of "The Green" series on the Sundance Channel.[9] He next directed a feature documentary on Poet Laureate and environmental activist W.S. Merwin, titled Even Though the Whole World Is Burning.[10] 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[11] | Director/producer/editor | Documentary | |
2007 | Arranged[12] | Director/writer/producer | |
2008 | The Higher Force[13] | 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[14] | Producer/actor | ||
My Last Day Without You[15] | Director/writer/producer | ||
2014 | Even Though the Whole World Is Burning | Director/writer/producer | Documentary |
2017 | Kuleana | Producer/actor | |
2020 | Aloha Surf Hotel[16] | 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[17] | Co-creator/producer/actor |
2012 | First Lady / Nicht mit mir, Liebling[18] | 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 [19] | 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
[edit]This section needs additional citations for verification. (June 2024) |
- 2002 – New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Screenwriting[20]
- 2003 – Berlin Talents, Berlin International Film Festival[21]
- 2004 – Grand Prize in Digital Filmmaking from Apple and Panasonic[22]
- 2004 – Writer-in-Residence, Omi International Arts Center
- 2005 – Best Screenwriter Hamptons International Film Festival, Confess[23]
- 2007 – Washington Jewish Film Festival: Audience Award Arranged[24]
- 2007 – Berkshire International Film Festival: Audience Award Arranged
- 2007 – Brooklyn Film Festival: Best Film Arranged[25]
- 2008 – Berlin International Film Festival: Teddy Award for Best Feature Film The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela[26]
- 2008 – Skip City International Film Festival:[27] Grand Prize, $100,000 award for Best Film Arranged[28]
- 2011 – Brooklyn International Film Festival: Best Producer My Last Day Without You[29]
- 2011 – Big Island Film Festival: Audience Choice Award Get A Job[30]
- 2012 – Black Reel Awards: Best Original Song My Last Day Without You (nominated)[31]
- 2012 – Black Reel Awards: Best Independent Feature Film My Last Day Without You[32]
- 2018 – Writer-in-Residence, Can Cab Literary Residence[33]
- 2018 – Maui Film Festival: Hawaii-Made Short Film I Am Because You Are[34]
- 2020 – Hawaii International Film Festival: Made-in Hawaii Best Feature Aloha Surf Hotel (nominated)[35]
- 2021 – Hawaii Film Critics Society: Best Hawaii Feature Film Aloha Surf Hotel (nominated) [36]
- 2022 – Individual Artist Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts[37]
References
[edit]- ^ Cicala Filmworks, retrieved 2011-03-22
- ^ "Eklund's Antarctic". www.karinschaefer.com. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ "Carl Eklund". usas1939.org. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
- ^ 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".
- ^ Schaefer, Stefan C. (2006-06-27), Contested Streets (Documentary), Majora Carter, Kenneth Jackson, Robert R. Kiley, Cicala Filmworks, retrieved 2025-01-28
- ^ Bennett, Bruce (2007-12-14). "Break On Through To The Other Side". Archived from the original on June 20, 2008.
- ^ Johannesson, Olaf de Fleur (2008-03-28), Stóra planið (Comedy), Pétur Jóhann Sigfússon, Ingvar Sigurdsson, Eggert Þorleifsson, Cicala Filmworks, Icelandic Film Center, Kukl, retrieved 2025-01-28
- ^ 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.
- ^ Nennstiel, Thomas (2012-03-23), Nicht mit mir, Liebling (Comedy), Ursula Karven, Hans Werner Meyer, Henning Baum, ARD Degeto Film, teamWorx Television & Film, retrieved 2025-01-28
- ^ Schaefer, Stefan C., Surf Break Hotel (Comedy), Nick Corirossi, Tani Lynn Fujimoto, John Gemberling, Abominable Pictures, retrieved 2025-01-28
- ^ "NEW YORK FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS Directory of Artists' Fellows & Finalists" (PDF).
- ^ "Berlinale Talents - Stefan Schaefer". Berlinale Talents. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
- ^ "Panasonic Professional Video Products - Press Release". web.archive.org. 2004-12-07. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
- ^ "2005 Hamptons International Film Festival award winners". IMDb.
- ^ "Washington Jewish Film Festival (2007)". IMDb. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
- ^ "IMDb.com Brooklyn International Film Festival 2007 award winners". IMDb.
- ^ "Berlin International Film Festival (2008)". IMDb. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
- ^ "SKIP CITY INTERNATIONAL D-Cinema FESTIVAL 2024". www.skipcity-dcf.jp. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
- ^ Skip City. "Results".
- ^ "Brooklyn International Film Festival 2011 award winners". IMDb.
- ^ "Big Island Film Festival (2011)". IMDb. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
- ^ Morales, Wilson (2011-12-14). "Pariah Lead Black Reel Awards Field". blackfilm.com. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
- ^ "Black Reel Awards (2012)". IMDb. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
- ^ "Residents". Can Cab. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
- ^ "Maui Film Festival (2018)". IMDb. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
- ^ "HIFF40 | HIFF | Hawai'i International Film Festival". Retrieved 2025-02-13.
- ^ "Aloha Surf Hotel |". web.archive.org. 2020-11-29. Retrieved 2025-01-01.
- ^ SFCA grantee spotlight. "Viral".