Meet Vanessa Schefke | Writer, Filmmaker, Creative Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Vanessa Schefke and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Vanessa, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?

I was born in Germany but we moved around quite a bit, every few years or so. My parents are political journalists, and my mom was the one always seeking out new stories. We lived in Ecuador, visited Senegal, Gambia, or Egypt, moved to the Canary Islands in Spain, then in various German cities, before ultimately landing in Miami when I was 13. I now live between Miami and Berlin, Germany.

I distinctly remember being both nervous and so excited with each move – who would I meet? Where would we live? Would my new school mates like me? Can I speak their language? How will our new place smell? With the moves I became pretty adaptable, but also highly appreciative and curious in all things stories. When I was younger I desperately tried to find a coherent narrative – to somehow make sense of all of the chaos. The older I’ve gotten, I’ve come to realize that everyone is right, in their own, often constructed, way. But truly: truth is subjective. Memory is a poet, not a historian. Emotions veil everything. That magical sweet spot instructs my film work and writing today.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

I’m a writer, film director, and creative director in the ad space – one of those creative hyphenates, where each area of my creative work interlinks in some way.

My first job after college was at a liquor store on South Beach Miami. In the boiling summer, I remember being so massively bored, that I did what I came naturally to me: writing stories. I made silly social media content with random skits, until a film production company in Berlin noticed them and offered me a job. I moved to Berlin and started ideating, writing, and producing shorts, music videos, and ad content. The pandemic came, and I decided to write and direct a campaign to help struggling clubs & entertainers in Berlin. It ended up going viral, I designed and sold merch & was able to donate over 150k to those in need. That got the attention of one of the world’s best ad agencies, Anomaly, where I worked for a few years. Fast forward to today: I’m a Creative Director of campaigns for clients such as Mercedes, Rimowa, Maybach, AMG, Sony, Hinge, and more.

I directed my first narrative film, titled Young People Big Dreams, here in Miami in May 2023. It was a pretty heavy undertaking, with 6 locations, 15 cast members, 3 night shoots back to back, a budget that seemed to never be enough, and only a few weeks to fully prep. It was one of those equally humbling and massively invigorating projects, that I still feel the growing pains from. I was reminded once again, that film is one of the most – if not the most – collaborative forms of art. It really takes a village to bring this lightning in a bottle moment to life, and trust in yourself, your instinct, and your colleagues is the most important thing. Little promo moment: my film will be released at the end of this year, keep an eye out!

I’ve been described by my friends as confident and someone that can hold attention. I’ve had relative success in most aspects of my career, and now hold a job title that I was supposed to achieve in 6-8 years from now. The truth is, I never know what I’m doing, but I love to figure it out. And on a minuscule level, that’s what success is: Tinkering with something until you’ve untied the knot in your brain, and, best case scenario, turned it into a neat little bow. Every single try is already a success, even if you can’t quantify it in that moment. But you always get a little bit better. How great is that?

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

Omg the toughest question of them all! There are so many places.

But, if I had to choose: we would start off at Buenavista Bakery – that was my spot during high school – have some tartes and quiches, and slurp their bad coffee. We’d walk around Buenavista, look at the cute bungalows and houses. Then for lunch I’d take them to Sabor a Peru for some ceviche or a hefty sandwich at Pinecrest Bakery. Head over the the bridge, drive around and look at art deco before heading to the beach. Gaze at the pink skies, marvel at the fact that our sunsets are so pink because of the Saharan dust that’s swept over. Look at the flora and the fauna. Talk about how perfect and self sustainable the ecosystem we call our earth is. Then grab dinner at some hilariously fancy spot, watch the miami crowd of influencers and realtors gather for the nightly activities. Have a drink at my favorite weird bar: The Corner in Downtown. A reggaeton party or two. Pass out at 3 and do it all over again.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

I want to give a big shout out to the producer of my last film, Pamela Largaespada, based in Miami. She went absolutely above and beyond in bringing this thing to life. She never ceased to amaze me with her hard work and dedication, and really gave it her all. I came to her with a big, way too expensive and complicated idea, and she guided me through it all the way, breaking down each massive step into doable pieces, and ultimately produced an incredible film. She’s also a talented director, a mom of the sweetest little girl, and an all around bad ass. I don’t know how she does it.

Website: vanessaschefke.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanessaschefke/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessaschefke/

Image Credits
Alexander Killian, Anna Broujean