Shaufert Natalia

About

Natalia Shaufert, a film director, screenwriter, producer, and editor originally from Chisinau, Moldova, has distinguished herself through remarkable contributions to cinema, beginning her career with the resurgence of post-Soviet Moldovan film. A graduate of the Academy of Music, Theatre, and Fine Arts in Chisinau, where she earned her Bachelor's degree in Film and TV Directing (2012), Master's degree in Animation Directing (2014), and later an MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU Tisch in New York (2025), she has directed internationally awarded films such as the short film "Ana" (Best Director at the Gulf International Film Festival, Dubai, 2013), the feature film "Resentment" (2018, inspired by real events from the Transnistrian War, available on Prime Video), and "You and Me" (2024, Best Short Film Director at the Milan Indie Film Festival). Her films, centered on complex female protagonists, explore themes such as motherhood, cultural stereotypes, and women's struggles in society. She has collaborated with key institutions in Moldovan cinema, such as the Union of Cinematographers of Moldova, where she is a member, and the National Film Centre (member of the script evaluation committee in 2022), the „Golden Autumn” International Short Film Festival (international program coordinator, 2013), and the European Film Academy. Among her honorary positions are Berl Based in Connecticut, USA, with her family, Natalia Shaufert blends Eastern European heritage with an American perspective, writing satirical plays such as "Tender Breasts" and "Till Death Do Us Part," while planning productions in Moldova. Her personal life inspires her creations, exploring social dilemmas like single motherhood, postpartum depression, and women's disadvantages in the workplace, as reflected in "You and Me," which criticizes American maternity leave laws. As a Moldovan-American, she promotes low-budget independent cinema, winning trophies at festivals in the USA, Europe, and the Middle East, and continues to inspire through her tenacity and innovative vision.