# Stefan Schaefer

Stefan Schaefer (born August 17, 1971) is an American writer, director, and producer of films and television.

## Biography
### Early life and education

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 theatre and political theory at Wesleyan University, graduating with 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 where he co-founded the production company Cicala Filmworks.
He is the maternal grandson of polar explorer and ornithologist Carl R. Eklund.

## Career

His films have premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and SXSW, with releases on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO, PBS, and the Sundance Channel.
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, has written TV movies for European networks ARD and ZDF, two of which were filmed in Hawaii.
He also directed the television documentary Contested Streets, which examined the streets and public spaces in New York City compared to those in London, Paris, and Copenhagen. The documentary was screened at environmental film festivals and aired as part of "The Green" series on the Sundance Channel. He next directed a feature documentary on Poet Laureate and environmental activist W.S. Merwin, titled Even Though the Whole World Is Burning. A one-hour version of the film, W.S. Merwin: To Plant a Tree, was broadcast on PBS in 2016.

## Filmography

Film :
| Year | Title | Credit | Notes |
| 2005 | Confess | Director/writer | |
| 2006 | Act Normal | Co-producer | |
| 2006 | Contested Streets | Director/Producer/Editor | Documentary |
| 2007 | Arranged | Director/Writer/Producer | |
| 2008 | The Higher Force | Writer/Producer/Actor | |
| 2008 | The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela | Writer/Producer/Actor | |
| 2009 | The Hungry Ghosts | Producer/Actor | |
| 2011 | The Roundup | Director/Writer/Producer | Short film |
| 2011 | Get a Job | Producer/Actor | |
| 2011 | 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 | Documentary |
Television :
| Year | Title | Credit |
| 2009 | Circledrawers | Co-creator/producer/actor |
| 2012 | First Lady / Nicht mit mir, Liebling | Writer |
| 2013 | The Paradise Within / Das Paradies in uns | Writer |
| 2013 | To Love, Let Go / Wer liebt, lässt los | Writer |
| 2015 | Bluewater: Nightmare in Paradise [de] / Blauwasserleben | Writer |
| 2016 | Surf Break Hotel | Director/Writer/Producer |
| 2016 | W.S. Merwin: To Plant a Tree | Director/Writer/Producer |
| 2018 | I Am Because You Are | Director/Writer/Producer |

## 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 – Best Screenwriter Hamptons International Film Festival, Confess
* 2007 – Washington Jewish Film Festival: Audience Award Arranged
* 2007 – Berkshire International Film Festival: Audience Award Arranged
* 2007 – Brooklyn Film Festival: Best Film Arranged
* 2008 – Berlin International Film Festival: Teddy Award for Best Feature Film The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela
* 2008 – Skip City International Film Festival: Grand Prize, $100,000 award for Best Film Arranged
* 2011 – Brooklyn International Film Festival: Best Producer My Last Day Without You
* 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, Can Cab Literary Residence
* 2018 – Maui Film Festival: Hawaii-Made 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