CORNELIA RAVENAL
I'm American, but my extended family comes from Eastern Europe, India, Scandinavia, and the Middle East and embraces all five of the world's major religions. Partly because of this, I’ve always seen the familiar in the foreign and the unexpected in the everyday. I’m especially interested in patterns, both in nature and in human nature, and how they emerge and evolve.
Coming from a family of artists, I started art classes when I was 6. But by the time I was a teenager, theater was my passion. I acted, then wrote. My first professional show was the musical OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN, for which I wrote book, music, and lyrics. It won the Seagram Award for New Music Theater and had the longest run in the history of New Playwrights Theater in DC. I also co-wrote the hit musical TWO’S A CROWD and more recently, lyrics for the Susan Seidelman musical BOYNTON BEACH CLUB, based on her film. Most recently, I wrote scripts for Lars von Trier's Zentropa and Academy Award-winning producer Charles B. Wessler (GREEN BOOK).
I’m also a filmmaker and producer, often working with my husband, Mikael Södersten. Together, we’ve made narrative and documentary films, including MOVING STORIES (Amazon Prime), THE OTHER WOMAN, and FIVE FEELINGS ABOUT FOOD. I also co-produced the off-Broadway New York Times Critics Pick NIRBHAYA.
Previously, I was a freelance journalist published in The New York Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Art Asia Pacific, and other magazines. For two years I was a US Correspondent for India's leading newsmagazine, India Today. I’ve also been a speechwriter, communications strategist and producer of videos for Fortune 500 companies and video news releases for ABC News, PBS, and CNN.
I've always liked connecting people and creating communities. In the '90s, I hosted monthly events for foreign correspondents, diplomats, and media at the National Arts Club and Ismael Merchant's Pondicherry. I co-founded Women Independent Producers. I've spoken on panels about film, gender, and trauma. I have a B.A. from Harvard and have lived in India, Egypt, and Sweden, which is my second home.
A constant in my life is taking photographs. I got my first camera as a college graduation present from my father. I’m still capturing the world in new ways.