Brandt Andersen

Biography

Brandt Andersen is an American activist, writer, director, and producer. Andersen wrote and directed I Was a Stranger. A feature film based on Andersen's short film titled Refugee. I Was a Stranger stars Yasmine Al Massri, Omar Sy, and Jason Beghe. The film was Andersen's feature directorial debut and opened at the Berlin International Film Festival winning the Amnesty International Prize. Andersen's short film Refugee opened at the Cairo International Film Festival and has been screened at film festivals across the globe, by the UNHCR for World Refugee Day, and at Banksy's Walled Off Hotel. The film earned Andersen the award for Best Director and Best Dramatic Short Film at the 2020 French Riviera Film Festival and was short-listed for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short in 2020. As a producer Andersen is known for such films as Everest, Lone Survivor, 2 Guns, Escape Plan, and Broken City. His film The Flowers of War was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 2011. Two of Andersen's films have premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. First in 2012 with the Stephen Frears film Lay The Favorite, and then in 2015 with the Jared Hess-directed Don Verdean.