Semi Chellas | |
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| Occupation(s) | Screenwriter, Director, Producer |
Semi Chellas (born 1969) is a director, writer, producer who has written for film, television and magazines. She was born inPalo Alto, California and grew up inCalgary,Alberta. She is known for her work on the television seriesMad Men and her film adaptation ofAmerican Woman based onSusan Choi'snovel of the same name.
She holds aB.A. in literature fromYale University and was a Mellon Fellow in English atCornell University. She was a screenwriting resident at theCanadian Film Centre inToronto.
Chellas was the co-creator with Ilana Frank and executive producer and head writer of the Canadian prime-time dramatic television seriesThe Eleventh Hour, two-time winner of theGemini Award (Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television award) for Best Series. Chellas andTassie Cameron shared the Gemini for Best Writing in 2005 for the series finale, "Bumpy Cover". The series was critically acclaimed; it was nominated for more than 30 Geminis and won nine.
Chellas adaptedLinda Spalding’sWho Named the Knife as a television movie entitledMurder on Her Mind; she also executive produced. She wrote the script forPicture Claire, a low-budget feature directed byBruce McDonald. It premiered at theToronto International Film Festival in 2001. She also wroteThe Life Before This, a low-budget feature directed byJerry Ciccoritti that premiered at TIFF in 1999; she also served as an associate producer. Her script for the Showtime/CBC television movieRestless Spirits (Canadian title:Dead Aviators) garnered her both a Gemini and a day-time Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing in a Children's Special.
Chellas joined the American seriesMad Men inseason 5. She co-wrote two episodes of season 5 withMatthew Weiner. Both episodes, "Far Away Places" and "The Other Woman", were nominated for aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series.[1] "The Other Woman" won a WGA award for Best Episodic Drama.[2]
Inseason 6, Chellas wrote "Man with a Plan" and co-wrote "Favors." Inseason 7, she wrote "The Strategy" and co-wrote "Lost Horizon." Along with Matthew Weiner, she was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for "Lost Horizon." She also served as co-executive producer, running the writers room in seasons 6 and 7. Together with her colleagues on the writing staff, Chellas was nominated for the Emmy Award forOutstanding Drama Series forMad Men in 2013, 2014, and 2015.
Chellas has directed four short films, three of which have premiered at The Toronto International Film Festival:Green Door (written byBarbara Gowdy; selected as one of Canada's Top Ten Short Films 2008 by TIFF);Trouser Accidents (included in the Best Canadian Short Films Showcase) andThree Stories from the End of Everything (nominated for aGenie Award for best live-action short); andOne Tomato.
In addition, she has published short fiction and interviews inBrick,Epoch,The Malahat Review andGrain. A non-fiction piece on embedded reporters, "Good to Go", appeared inThe Walrus andThe Commonwealth Journalists' Quarterly'[3]'.
Semi Chellas wrote the screenplay for the movieOphelia, directed by Claire McCarthy, which premiered at Sundance in January 2018.[4] The film starsDaisy Ridley,George MacKay,Naomi Watts, andClive Owen.
Chellas was an executive producer on the Amazon seriesThe Romanoffs. She wrote the episode "Expectation" starringAmanda Peet andJohn Slattery.
Her feature directorial debut wasAmerican Woman starringHong Chau andSarah Gadon. The screenplay was written by Chellas, and she also produced the project, which premiered atTribeca Film Festival in 2019.[5]American Woman had its international premiere as a gala presentation at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2019.[6]
Indiewire named Semi Chellas as one of their 25 Rising Female Filmmakers to Know in 2019.[7]American Woman was the opening gala presentation at theFemale Eye Film Festival in 2020.
At the 2019Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival, the film won the following awards: Best Director, Best Film, Best Actress, and Best Cinematography. It won the Special Jury Prize for lead actresses Chau and Gadon at theCalgary International Film Festival in 2019.American Woman also received a special presentation at the Victoria International Film Festival in 2020 and won the Gold Remi award for period film atWorldFest-Houston in 2020.
Chellas has mentored and taught at Maisha Film Lab of East Africa, Toronto Workshop for Underprivileged Youth, Tribeca Festival's Through Her Lens, and at theSundance Institute.[8]
Along withPatricia Rozema, Chellas was the screenwriter in residence at theUniversity of Toronto in 2003. She delivered The Gellman Lecture in English atCornell University in 2016. She received theCrystal Award for Creative Excellence fromWomen in Film and Television Toronto (WIFT-T), as well as theMargaret Collier Award for Writing from theAcademy of Canadian Cinema & Television in 2013. Chellas received the Inaugural award for Creative Excellence in 2014 at theCanadian Film Centre (presented byNorman Jewison).
Semi Chellas is now based inLos Angeles, where she lives with her partner, writer-directorMike Goldbach, and their two children.
Her interest in social change fuels much of her writing, including her Emmy nominated work onMad Men, and her directorial debutAmerican Woman. Her writing is influenced by social issues and themes that are pervasive in society, in particular sexism, racism and political activism.[9]A theme in her dramatic writing is people's struggle to change.[10]
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