Sophia Bierend won for her writing the Degeto Impulse Award and was simultaneously working as an assistant director on the Netflix series Unorthodox and the film I’m Your Man. Both projects were realized by Maria Schrader, for whom she also works privately as an assistant. Inspired by this collaboration, Sophia applied for the talent lab at the War On Screen Film Festival in France. She won and got funding for her short film script The Taster. She wrote and directed the movie, which won the Student BAFTA in 2023 and is now successfully screening at various festivals all over the world. As a screenwriter she is part of various Writers Rooms, wrote among others several episodes for the youth series ECHT (KiKA, ZDF).
Here’s a quick synopsis for the Taster: In a near-future Romania, young Ozana (Silvana Mihai) is chosen to work as a food taster for the leader of forces occupying her country. The sole rule she must follow is that she must never look this man in the eye. Writer/director Sophia Bierend has made a captivating master class in slow-burn tension and world-building, phenomenally well-executed and performed according to Fantasia Film Festival’s Mitch Davis.