About Alex Helfrecht
About
Born to an American father and a British mother, Alex grew up in the UK, France and the Caribbean, studying English at UCL before training as a theatre professional at the Central School of Speech and Drama.
Currently Alex is in post - production on feature film A WINTER'S JOURNEY, adapted from Franz Schubert's timeless song cycle WINTERREISE, starring Marcin Czarnik, Gabriella Moran, John Malkovich, Jason Isaacs and Martina Gedeck, a five country European co-production supported by the BFI Global Screen Fund, and their first novel and accompanying opera, DISSOLUTION, a transgressive feminist chronicle of rehabilitation, love and loss.
Artistic Approach
Alex writes and directs for stage and screen and is particularly focused on adapting classic works of literature and music, and showcasing work by emerging writers and composers. Alex is an ambitious story-teller, a survivor of breast cancer and an accomplished choral singer.
Representation
Blake Friedmann Literary
15 Highbury Pl, London N5 1QP
Tel: +44 020 73870842
Expertise
Writing
Select Credits include A WINTER'S JOURNEY (in post-production) NYET: A BREXIT BORDER FARCE starring Olivia Williams, Beatie Edney and Garry Mountaine which sold to SKY. They have directed two feature films, THE WHITE KING starring Agyness Dean, Jonathan Pryce, Greta Scacchi, Clare Hope-Ashitey and Fiona Shaw and HEMINGWAY'S THE SUN ALSO RISES " Intense, raw, and compelling...cutting edge" (The Sunday Telegraph) "Fine story-telling with a muscularity that does Hemingway justice" (Jewish Chronicle) "An exuberant play and an excellent adaptation" (Broadway World).
Directing
Select credits include dystopian satire 2+2+2 featuring Richard. E. Grant, "fiercely original, beautifully rafted, a rare, ebullient treat" (Time Out) Ernest Hemingway’s FIESTA: THE SUN ALSO RISES at Trafalgar Studios, and 1800 ACRES at Riverside Studios starring Cathy Tyson and Tobi Bakare. Most recently, Alex directed LOST WATCHES, a new play by Lorenzo Allchurch featuring Jason Isaacs as the voice of William Burroughs at the Park Theatre in London: “Compelling, soundly performed and touching” (The Reviews Hub). “…Deeply affecting” (UKTW) “Adroitly handled” (Green Room Reviews) “fragmented, feverish, and full of strange beauty” (London Born and Bred).
Alex has directed two acclaimed short films: BATTLE FOR BRITAIN, starring Julian Glover, "Superb, illuminating, poignant" (Little White Lies) and NYET: A BREXIT BORDER FARCE starring Olivia Williams, Beatie Edney and Garry Mountaine which sold to SKY. They have directed two feature films, THE WHITE KING (2017) " An impressive feature debut, full of authenticity and emotional power" (Screen Anarchy) starring Agyness Dean, Jonathan Pryce, Greta Scacchi, Clare Hope-Ashitey and Fiona Shaw. It premiered at Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2016 where it was nominated for the Michael Powell Award for Best British Film and Best Performance. It was long listed for two BIFAs and was followed by a long festival run. It was distributed in the UK by Signature Entertainment and Film Movement in the United States.
Alex’s sophomore feature film, A WINTER’S JOURNEY, an adaptation of Schubert’s timeless masterpiece WINTERREISE, is an animated-live action hybrid adventure A WINTER’S JOURNEY. It stars John Malkovich, Martina Gedeck, Jason Isaacs, Olafur Darri Olafsson, Marcin Czarnik and British newcomer Gabriella Moran. A WINTER’S JOURNEY is a co-production between the UK, France, Belgium, Poland and Germany, and partners include Deutsche Grammophon (Universal Music) Sony PlayStation, Sony Pictures Classics, Arte, BKM, Mk2 FIlms, Polish Film Institute, Screen Brussels, and British Film Institute, Global Screen Fund.
Script Dev/Teaching
Alex is an experienced script editor and is skilled in developing the material of established and emerging writers, as well as facilitating scene study and coaching actors. For enquiries regarding teaching/coaching and script development please contact Alex directly.
