hello, my name is sylvia.

In short, I live for love and art and making meaningful things that expand the horizon of possibility.

Or as Michel Foucault said, “My job is making windows where there were once walls. Knowledge is not for knowing: knowledge is for cutting.”

Longer version below, if you’re into that sort of thing.

writer + director bio:

Sylvia Saether is an American-Norwegian artist who began developing her distinctive narrative style in the mid-2000s, directing, shooting, and editing music videos for her girlfriend and friends in the East LA music scene. She works as a writer, director, producer, creative consultant, photographer, and film/TV editor. She is repped by Anonymous Content.

In 2010, Sylvia was one of eight filmmakers selected for the American Film Institute's prestigious Directing Workshop for Women (DWW+). She went on to become one of four participants in the Sony Television Diverse Directors Program in 2014 and one of six filmmakers chosen for the Film Independent Directing Lab in 2015, where she was mentored by Catherine Hardwicke. In 2017, Sylvia was selected for Ryan Murphy’s HALF Program, where she was mentored by director and cinematographer Nelson Cragg on FX’s American Crime Story: Versace. Sylvia has also served as an advisor for Sundance Collab’s Directing: Visual Storytelling course on multiple occasions.

Sylvia’s films have screened at festivals worldwide, earning accolades including "Best Narrative Short" for her film Overdrawn at LACMA's Young Directors Night, and for her short King of Norway at the Napa Valley Film Festival. King of Norway was shot on 16mm film, made possible by an ARRI grant, and featured cinematography by Van Nessa Manlunas, who was nominated for an Emerging Cinematography Award by the International Cinematographers Guild. The film also screened at the Directors Guild of America. Her short Runaway premiered at Palm Springs ShortFest, and her feature script for King of Norway was selected by a jury for the American Film Institute's Alumni Script Reading Series.

In 2015, the feature version of King of Norway was supported by the New Cinema Network and included in the film market during the Rome Film Festival in Italy. Sylvia attended, meeting many potential international co-producers while solidifying her passion for working on projects over seas— all her family on her father’s side resides in Norway. She is currently developing TV and film projects, both in the U.S. and Europe. Like Sylvia, her above mentioned feature film King of Norway has evolved over the last decade and is being revised and packaged under the new title Solar Noon, and she’s gearing up to shoot her first feature this year called Three Days in Detroit.