Semi Chellas

Semi Chellas wrote and directed the feature film AMERICAN WOMAN which premiered at the TriBeCa Film Festival this spring; was a gala presentation at The Toronto International Film Festival this fall; and won a Special Jury Prize at The Calgary International Film Festival for leads Hong Chau and Sarah Gadon. Chellas is best known as a writer/Co-Executive Producer of MAD MEN, where she was nominated for six Emmys and shared the Writers Guild Award with creator Matthew Weiner. She joined Weiner again as Executive Producer and writer of Amazon’s THE ROMANOFFS. Her teleplay for Showtime’s RESTLESS SPIRITS was nominated for a daytime Emmy for the writing; the movie won numerous awards, including the Gold Prize at the New York Television Festival. Among her feature scripts are last year’s OPHELIA (starring Daisy Ridley, Naomi Watts and Clive Owen) and the upcoming adaptation of Esta Spalding’s kid series LOOK OUT FOR THE FITZGERALD TROUTS! Chellas has also written non-fiction, made short films, and worked as a journalist. She was a screenwriter in residence at the University of Toronto; lectured at Cornell University, U.S.C., York University, and the City College of New York; and has mentored/taught at the Maisha Film Lab of East Africa, TriBeCa Festival’s Through Her Lens and this fall through the Sundance Institute.