About Me

INT. MY HEAD – DAY
 

Thank you for visiting my little corner of the web, or as I like to call it; a virtual smörgåsbord of whatever’s going on inside MY HEAD. Usually, a lot.

Since this section is called ‘ABOUT ME’, I should probably tell you a little something about myself and my work. So, here goes:

My name is STEVEN FRIEDMAN and I string words together for a living. This noble
and highly respected profession* is often referred to as ‘writer’. And since most of the writing I do is for film, television and other visual media, my particular vocation is best described as SCREENWRITER.

Born in the Dutch city of GOUDA (yes, where the cheese comes from) in 1975, I fell in love with the MAGIC OF CINEMA at a very young age and had the pleasure of growing up in a household where the VCR usually never stopped playing. Mind you, this was a time when political correctness hadn’t yet seeped its way into our homes and movie ratings were seen as advice you simply didn’t heed, which meant you got to watch COMMANDO, AMERICAN NINJA and A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET at home. With your parents. Also, I think I’ve seen every single Bud Spencer and Terence Hill-film ever made, as my father just loved those.

You know why everyone who grew up in the eighties says it was the best decade ever? Because it was. So there.
 

Anyway, as my love for all things cinema grew and grew, I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life: MAKE MOVIES (well, I also wanted to drive around in a van and solve mysteries with a talking dog, but that was just a phase). I found that one of the best and most satisfying ways to channel my creativity was through WRITING. So that’s what I did. I started writing – and I kind of never stopped.

After studying communication (with an emphasis on copywriting and concept-development), I worked as an ADVERTISING-COPYWRITER for a while before making the ‘move’ to SCREENWRITING. Making money as a film-critic, writing for several (online) magazines, I started honing my skills as a screenwriter – taking various courses and seminars. In 1999, I met director Silvain Hooglander at the International Film Festival in Rotterdam, and things immediately ‘clicked’.

In 2002, I wrote the short film ‘Integreren Kun Je Leren’ (It’s Great to Integrate), which Silvain directed. Shot in about a week on a shoestring budget, it went on to win the GRAND PRIX at a Pan-European film competition organized by Canal+, as well as several other prizes at various film festivals around the globe.

A year later, I wrote the short film ‘De Eerste Dag’ (The First Day), for which I also composed the score. The 10 minute short, starring Cynthia Abma and Ronald Top, premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2004 and played at film festivals around the world.

After The First Day, I became a staff-writer on Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden (Good Times, Bad Times); the most popular soap opera in The Netherlands. In addition, it is now the only soap opera in The Netherlands. I also continued working as a screenwriter on the advertising side of things, writing commercials, company films and multimedia-productions.
 

As far as feature films are concerned, I have several spec scripts under my belt, which I know is not the place to keep them. Kidding aside, two of my scripts have been optioned by production companies and one is now in pre-production, under the wings of Dutch producer Wim Lehnhausen of Amsterdam Studios.

I currently reside in the historical Dutch city of Delft, where I live with my beautiful wife MARIJE, our spunky toddler JOSHUA, a hyperactive Jack Russell called CHARLIE and cat Kubrick.
 

Hope you enjoy my site and please stay in touch!
 

Cheers,

Steven

* not really an accurate characterization of this profession