Stefan Schaefer

Stefan Schaefer (born August 17, 1971) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He works as a screenwriter and director for films that have been screened at festivals such as South by Southwest.

Biography

Early life and education Schaefer was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was raised in Sussex during his early childhood, and later lived in both Michigan and New York. He studied theatre and political theory at Wesleyan University and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. After completing his undergraduate studies, he spent a year and a half in Germany as a Fulbright scholar at Kiel University. After returning to New York City, he co-founded the production company Cicala Filmworks.

He is the maternal grandson of Carl R. Eklund, a polar explorer and ornithologist.

Career Schaefer's 2007 film Arranged was screened at festivals such as South by Southwest (SXSW). His work has been made available on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO, PBS, and Sundance Channel.

With writer Chris Silber, Schaefer has co-written television films for the European networks ARD and ZDF, including two productions filmed in Hawaii.

Schaefer directed the documentary, Contested Streets, which compared the use of public space and streets in New York City with London, Paris, and Copenhagen. The film was shown at environmental film festivals and aired on Sundance TV as part of The Green series. He also directed a documentary on W.S. Merwin, Even Though the Whole World Is Burning.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

2002 – New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Screenwriting 2003 – Berlin Talents, Berlin International Film Festival 2004 – Grand Prize in Digital Filmmaking from Apple and Panasonic 2005 – Scribe Prize Hamptons International Film Festival, Confess 2007 – Berkshire International Film Festival: Audience Award Arranged 2007 – Brooklyn Film Festival: Best Film, Best Narrative Feature Film, Arranged 2008 – Skip City International Film Festival: Grand Prize, $100,000 award for Best Film Arranged 2012 – Black Reel Awards: Best Original Song My Last Day Without You (nominated) 2018 – Writer-in-Residence, Can Cab Literary Residence 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 2024 – Hawaii Film Critics Society: Best Hawaii Feature Film One Million Dolla (nominated)