Shan Serafin

{{Infobox person | image = File:Shan Serafin 2016.png | caption = Serafin on the set of ''The Believer'' | occupation = {{flatlist| * Director * screenwriter * novelist }} | years_active = 2009–present | alma_mater = University of California, Los Angeles | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1972|05|17}} | birth_place = Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | spouse = {{marriage|Beth Morrow<br />|2008|2013|end=divorced}} }}

'''Shan Serafin''' ({{IPAc-en|ʃ|ɔː|n|_|ˈ|s|ɛr|ə|f|ɪ|n}} {{respell|shawn|_|SERR|ə|fin}}; born May 17, 1972) is an American film director, screenwriter, and novelist. In both film and literature he is known for his work in the thriller and action genres. For stage, the majority of his productions fall under drama.

==Writing career== Serafin has continually collaborated with best-selling novelist James Patterson, with whom he's co-authored ''The Women's War'' (2016),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fantasticfiction.com/p/james-patterson/womens-war.htm|title=The Women's War (BookShots) by James Patterson and Shan Serafin|website=www.fantasticfiction.com|language=en|access-date=2017-05-13}}</ref> an action thriller about three female special ops; ''Come And Get Us'' (2017),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jamespatterson.com/bookshots-books/come-and-get-us|title=Come and Get Us|website=www.jamespatterson.com|language=en|access-date=2017-05-13}}</ref> a thriller about a young mother stranded in the desert; and ''Revenge'' (2017),<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://jamespattersonbooklist.com/james-patterson-revenge/|title=James Patterson – Revenge|date=2017-03-26|work=James Patterson Book List|access-date=2017-05-13|language=en-US}}</ref> a thriller about a hitman avenging his wife. In 2020, Patterson and Serafin collaborated for what would be their longest-running novel on the New York Times Best Seller List with ''Three Women Disappear'' (2020),<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.littlebrown.com/titles/james-patterson/three-women-disappear/9780316541626/|title=Three Women Disappear|date=2020-02-04|language=en-US}}</ref> which entwines the first-person accounts of three women suspected of the same murder. Serafin is known for fiction narratives featuring strong female characters often entangled in violent predicaments. His first novel ''Seventeen''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bancroftpress.com/sserafin_seventeen.html|title=Bancroft Press - Shan Serafin's Seventeen|website=www.bancroftpress.com|access-date=2017-05-13}}</ref> is the story of a seventeen-year old adolescent who gives herself seven days to live. His second solo-effort is ''Conquest<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bancroftpress.com/sserafin_seventeen.html|title=Bancroft Press - Shan Serafin's Seventeen|website=www.bancroftpress.com|access-date=2017-05-13}}</ref>'', a fiction narrative of the toils of modern dating.

==Directing career== Serafin's film-directing career began with ''The Forest'' (2011),<ref>{{Citation|title=The Forest (2011)|url=https://letterboxd.com/film/the-forest-2011/|language=en|accessdate=2017-05-13}}</ref> which was the first of three feature films he would write and direct. ''The Forest'' is a supernatural thriller shot on-location in the infamous Aokigahara Jukai suicide forest, which stars Aidan Bristow and Michael Madsen. His second film, ''Misfire'' (2013),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.random-movie-picker.com/director/shan-serafin.html|title=Movie Director - Shan Serafin - 2 Movies|last=2kblater|website=www.random-movie-picker.com|language=en|access-date=2017-05-13}}</ref> starring Jaina Lee Ortiz, is a stylized action-thriller depicting rival female assassins converging on the same target. His most-recent film, ''The Believer'' (2017),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://blackpowderworks.com/|title=Black Powder Works|website=blackpowderworks.com|language=en|access-date=2017-05-13}}</ref> is a psychological thriller involving demonology within the context of marital strife. ''The Believer'' represents his second collaboration with actor Aidan Bristow, who also produced, and co-stars Billy Zane, Sophie Kargman, Lindsey Ginter, and Susan Wilder.

Serafin's directorial work in theater began with a stage play he also co-wrote entitled ''The Essential Bond'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/events/1999essentialbond/speakers.html|title=Speaker Biography - “The Essential Bond” - June 12, 1999 - Special Collections & Archives Research Center, Oregon State University Libraries|website=scarc.library.oregonstate.edu|access-date=2017-05-13}}</ref> a biographical narrative about the true story of two-time Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling. ''The Essential Bond'' starred John Astin and Matt Ashford and ran for three months. Thereafter, Serafin directed several stage productions in Los Angeles, including Adam Rapp's ''Red Light Winter'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.plays411.com/newsite/castcrew/play_castcrew.asp?show_id=3497|title=Red Light Winter Cast and Crew Plays 411 com Los Angeles|website=www.plays411.com|access-date=2017-05-13}}</ref> Patrick Marber's ''Closer'',<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://complexhollywood.com/wordpress/2013/12/31/closer/|title=Closer|work=The Complex Hollywood|access-date=2017-05-13|language=en-US}}</ref> and Theresa Rebeck's ''Spike Heels'',<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://complexhollywood.com/wordpress/2014/08/05/spike-heels/|title=Spike Heels|work=The Complex Hollywood|access-date=2017-05-13|language=en-US}}</ref> before directing ''Faisons Retentir le Chant Merveilleux de Nos Vies'' at the Auditorium Edmond Michelet à La Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris.

==Personal life== Serafin trained in stage performance and filmmaking at UCLA and served as a member of the Aresis Ensemble Theater Troupe<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.citygarage.org/research-archives.html|title=City Garage - Research Archives|website=www.citygarage.org|language=en|access-date=2017-05-13}}</ref> in Santa Monica where he engaged in the North American debut of several avant-garde French and other European works. He was married to Beth Morrow from 2008 until they divorced in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.shanserafin.com/|title=shanserafin.com|website=www.shanserafin.com|access-date=2017-05-13}}</ref> Currently residing in both Paris and Los Angeles he is a Buddhist practicing with the Soka Gakkai International organization of Nichiren Buddhism practitioners,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://paulingblog.wordpress.com/tag/soka-gakkai-international-usa/|title=Soka Gakkai International-USA {{!}} PaulingBlog|website=paulingblog.wordpress.com|language=en|access-date=2017-05-13}}</ref> wherein he has undertaken responsibility as a national youth leader and served for a term as the editor-in-chief of its national youth gazette ''Seize the Day.''

==Novels== * ''Seventeen'' (2004) * ''The Women's War'' (2016) * ''Come and Get Us'' (2017) * ''Revenge'' (2017) * ''Conquest'' (2017) * ''Three Women Disappear'' (2020)

==Filmography== * ''Forest of the Living Dead'' (2011) * ''Misfire'' (2012) * ''The Believer'' (2021)

==References== <references />

==External links== * [http://www.hollywood.com/celebrity/4070779/Shan_Serafin Hollywood.com celebrity page for Shan Serafin] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20121022070959/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/1174730/Shan-Serafin NY Times Biography page for Shan Serafin]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Serafin, Shan}} Category:21st-century American novelists Category:Film directors from Ohio Category:American male novelists Category:American Nichiren Buddhists Category:Members of Sōka Gakkai Category:Novelists from Ohio Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century American male writers Category:21st-century American Buddhists