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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) |
| Occupation(s) | writer, director, producer |
| Spouse | Chenta Laury |
| Children | 2 |
Stefan Schaefer is an American writer, director and producer of films and television.
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.
Schaefer's films have premiered and won awards at festivals such as the Berlin International Film Festival and SxSW, 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 and has 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.
| Year | Title | Credit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Confess | Director/writer | |
| 2006 | Act Normal | Co-producer | |
| Contested Streets | Director/producer/editor | ||
| 2007 | Arranged | 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 | Producer/actor | ||
| My Last Day Without You | Director/writer/producer | ||
| 2014 | Even Though the Whole World Is Burning | Director/writer/producer | Documentary |
| 2017 | Kuleana | Producer/actor | |
| 2020 | Aloha Surf Hotel | Director/writer/producer | |
| 2023 | Viral | Director/co-writer/producer | Short film |
| 2024 | Grit & Gratitude: The Sig Anderman Story | Director/writer/producer |
| Year | Title | Credit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Circledrawers | 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 | Blue Water Living / 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 |
 | This section needs additional citations for verification .(June 2024) |
William Stanley Merwin 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 thematically characterized by indirect, unpunctuated narration. In the 1980s and 1990s, his writing influence derived from an interest in Buddhist philosophy and deep ecology. Residing in a rural part of Maui, Hawaii, he wrote prolifically and was dedicated to the restoration of the island's rainforests.
Alan Berliner is an American independent filmmaker. The New York Times has described Berliner's work as "powerful, compelling and bittersweet... full of juicy conflict and contradiction, innovative in their cinematic technique, unpredictable in their structures... Alan Berliner illustrates the power of fine art to transform life."
Peʻahi is a place on the north shore of the island of Maui in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It has lent its name to a big wave surfing break, also known as Jaws.
Dennis David Kahekilimamaoikalanikeha Kamakahi was a Hawaiian slack key guitarist, recording artist, music composer, and Christian minister. He was a three-time Grammy Award winner, and in 2009 he was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame.
This Is That Productions was one of the leading independent feature film production companies. Established in 2002, and based in New York City, the company was founded and fully owned by Ted Hope, Anne Carey, Anthony Bregman, and Diana Victor. The four partners previously worked together at the groundbreaking Good Machine, which Ted Hope co-founded in 1991.
Confess is a 2005 American independent feature film written and directed by Stefan Schaefer.
Arranged is a 2007 American independent film produced by Cicala Filmworks, directed by Diane Crespo and Stefan Schaefer, and starring Zoe Lister-Jones and Francis Benhamou. It tells the story of the friendship between an Orthodox Jewish woman (Rochel) and a Muslim woman (Nasira), both of whom are teachers in New York City.
Diane Crespo is a producer and director of feature films and documentaries. She co-founded Cicala Filmworks in 1997.
Cicala Filmworks is an American independent film production company based in New York City. Feature film credits include My Last Day Without You (2011), Get a Job (2011), Michael Imperioli's debut The Hungry Ghosts (2009), Olaf de Fleur's The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela (2008), Arranged (2007), and Confess (2005). Documentaries include Even Though the Whole World Is Burning (2014) and Contested Streets (2006), which was broadcast as part of "The Green" on The Sundance Channel. Founded in 1997 by Stefan Schaefer and Diane Crespo, the company has also created promotional content for The Guggenheim Museum, The New York Yankees and The March of Dimes.
Christoph 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.
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 companies Cicala Filmworks and Silver Shepherd.
Joana Vicente is a Portuguese independent movie producer and executive. A prominent figure in the New York film industry, Vicente has produced over forty films with her producing partner and husband Jason Kliot. In 1999 Vicente and Kliot produced Tony Bui's feature debut, Three Seasons, which took the three top awards at the Sundance Film Festival, including the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize. Vicente and Kliot have since worked with directors such as Steven Soderbergh, Brian De Palma, Hal Hartley, Nicole Holofcener, Jim Jarmusch, and Alex Gibney.
The Berkshire International Film Festival (BIFF) was founded in 2005 by Kelley Vickery in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The four-day festival features independent films for filmmakers and film aficionados, with showings of features, documentaries, shorts, and animation—as well as panel discussions and special events focusing on filmmakers and talented artists from both sides of the camera.
Connected: An Autoblogography About Love, Death, & Technology is an autobiographical documentary film directed by Tiffany Shlain, dedicated to her father. The film unfolds during a year in which technology and science literally become a matter of life and death for the director. As Tiffany's father Dr. Leonard Shlain, MD battles brain cancer and she confronts a high-risk pregnancy, her very understanding of connection is challenged. Using a mix of animation, archival footage, and home movies, Shlain attempts to reveal the ties that link us not only to the people we love but also to the world at large. Connected explores how, after centuries of declaring our independence, it may be time for us to declare our interdependence instead.
Right There is a 2013 American short film written and directed by Nathan Suher. A romantic comedy about unrequited love, the film starred Ryan Hanley, Lauren Kennedy, Andre Boudreau, and Alexandra Cipolla. It was made as a modern-day silent film and intended by the filmmakers as a homage to the genre.
Even Though the Whole World Is Burning is a feature documentary film about former United States Poet Laureate and environmental activist W. S. Merwin. The film is directed and produced by Stefan Schaefer, and screened at the Maui Film Festival, DOXA Documentary Film Festival, Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital, Seattle International Film Festival, and the Hawaii International Film Festival.
Eliza Hittman is an American screenwriter, film director, and producer from New York City. She has won multiple awards for her film Never Rarely Sometimes Always, which include the New York Film Critics Circle Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award—both for best screenplay.
Diane Paragas is a Filipino-American documentary and narrative film and commercial director. She is best known for writing, directing and producing the 2020 film Yellow Rose. Yellow Rose was Paragas' debut narrative feature. The film was selected as the Opening Night Film of the 2019 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. Yellow Rose won Grand Jury Prizes at LAAPFF, Bentonville Film Festival, CAAMFEST37, and Urbanworld where it also took the Audience Award. The film also won the Audience Award at the Hawaii International Film Festival.
Aloha Surf Hotel is a 2020 American independent film written and directed by Stefan Schaefer, and produced by Cicala Filmworks and Jonathan Stern's Abominable Pictures. The film premiered at the 2020 Hawaii International Film Festival, and was released to theatres in Hawaii on December 4, 2020.
^ 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".
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