Unwritten+

Sylvia Yu Friedman | A Life of Fearlessness ✨

Born in South Korea, raised in Vancouver, shaped in Beijing, and now rooted in Hong Kong — Sylvia Yu Friedman has lived many lives in one.

As a journalist, documentary filmmaker, author of three powerful books (A Long Road to Justice, Silenced No More, and Fearless), and an advocate for survivors of modern slavery, she has walked into places most of us would run from. She’s faced danger, toxic workplaces, personal loss, and trauma — and still chooses joy, hope, and reconciliation.

In our conversation, we talk about:
🌿 Forgiveness as true freedom
🔥 The courage it takes to tell the untold — from war crimes to modern slavery
💔 Healing after trauma and walking through cancer with her husband
🌏 Resilience learned across continents — Korea, Canada, Beijing, Hong Kong
💡 Why love and hope never die, and why she believes the next generation will go further than we ever could

What inspired me most: Sylvia doesn’t just survive darkness. She transforms it — into stories, into lessons, into light for others.

🎙️ Episode 10 of Unwritten+ — our first-ever LIVE recording in a SERIESLY BERLIN SPECIAL is now available!

From Enugu to the Olympic Dream. Unwritten+ Live with Kaelo Iyizoba at Seriesly Berlin

Yesterday at the beautiful Fotografiska Berlin with an amazing view over Berlin in Bar Clara, during the fantastic second edition of Seriesly Berlin, I sat down with Kaelo Iyizoba—a Nigerian American filmmaker whose journey is pure vision and courage.

Born in NYC, raised in Enugu, Nigeria, Kaelo first trained as a pharmacist—then made the leap to study filmmaking at Columbia University Film School. Since then: award winning shorts like “River of Justice” and “Boy Meets Girl”, selections to the Sundance Cultural Impact Residency and TIFF Directors’ Lab, and now “Birthright,” his epic new series which he pitched at the festival’s Writers’ Vision Pitch.

What stayed with me:

• How a boy in Enugu once wrote little novels by hand and sold them with his cousins — and how that spark still fuels his storytelling today.
• The bravery it takes to say, “pharmacy wasn’t my story — film is,” and to start over on an entirely new path.
• The loneliness of landing in New York just as Covid shut the world down — and the resilience it took to keep going, to build community anyway.
• The way he uses cinema to trade in something rare and necessary: empathy.
• The spark of Prince of Egypt — and the dream of one day directing an Olympic Opening Ceremony.

Huge thank you to Seriesly Berlin, Dennis Ruh, Sabine Schmidt and Fotografiska Berlin for hosting our Unwritten+ debut in front of a live audience. What a view. What a room. What a guest.

One more thing: Every follow, every like, every comment helps us grow this community so we can keep telling the human side of building a career across cultures and borders. Thank you for your support!

Fourteen books devoured on a single road trip. A teenage obsession with musicals and VHS horror films. An intern who borrowed money just to take her dream job at Fortissimo Films — and later helped steer Lumière from DVDs to Netflix deals.

That same drive now powers Marike as Head of International Financing & Co-Productions at Nordisk Film — where she’s building bold partnerships across Europe while mentoring, moderating, and shaping the next generation of storytellers.

In our conversation we speak about:
✨ moving countries for love
✨ why business in Belgium starts with three lunches
✨ bath- and barroom pitches that actually close co-productions
✨ taking scary but calculated risks
✨ and why connection — not algorithms — is the real through-line of her career.

And we made a little pact: for my 100th episode (still far, far away — and for which I’ll need the continued support of this community), Marike will flip the mic and interview me as guest host.

How do you go from a cinema seat in a Dutch small town, moved to tears by a Brazilian film - to selling stories across continents, backing an €11M vampire series, and now showrunning a bold, romantic costume drama?

That’s the arc of Fleur Winters—producer of Dutch Gouden Kalf WinnerThe Crash, founder of Big Blue, and the creative force behind the upcoming Grand Hotel by the Sea.
A series that blends entertainment with substance—and throws a well-aimed rock into the still water of convention.

In this episode of Unwritten+, Fleur joins me to talk about:
🎬 What showrunning really means—and why clear leadership empowers creativity
🌊 How surfing (and saying no) helps her reset
🛠️ Building a slate that puts audience first—without chasing the algorithm
🪨 Why she believes stories should entertain and shake something loose
✨ The project she waited seven years to make

This one’s a masterclass in creative stamina, smart risk-taking, and trusting the story only you can tell.

You have 5 minutes to convince a room full of strangers your story matters.
What do you say? If you’re lucky, you’ll have Agathe Berman in your corner.

Known as The Pitchologist, she’s the go-to coach for filmmakers, showrunners, and producers across Europe who need their ideas to land — in a room, on a stage, or across a screen.

But what Agathe really teaches isn’t just how to pitch. It’s how to speak with clarity, courage, and presence.

And what makes her unforgettable?
Not just her method. Her.

In this episode, Agathe brings it all:

🪞 How her family’s legacy of silence and survival shaped her voice
🎤 The pitch that went spectacularly wrong — in front of Frederick Wiseman
🧿 Her pre-show rituals (pink glasses, scarves, and a lucky coin hidden in her bra)
🎭 A childhood spent recording dinner-table conversations, classifying guests as “the philosophers”… or just plain boring
🎶 And yes — she sings.

Magnetic. A bit unfiltered (in the best way). Deeply wise, and unexpectedly hilarious.

You may not know her name yet. But after this? You won’t forget it.

Some producers start with a screenplay. Michael Polle started with popcorn. 🍿

What began behind the concession stand of a one-screen cinema turned into one of the most respected careers in European drama—Babylon Berlin, Furia, Other People’s Money (aka Cum-Ex)… you’ve seen his work.

Now, in his first interview since launching his new company Polle Hofmann, Michael joins Unwritten+ to talk about:

🛠 Why producing is like being a football manager (and no, he’s not yelling from the sidelines)
🤝 How to keep a vision alive with two broadcasters and five opinions at the table
💸 Turning the biggest tax scandal in Europe into something emotionally gripping
🧠 The role of AI in research, second units, and maybe your next edit suite
💬 The thing he had to unlearn after 20 years in the game
☕ And why coffee before email is non-negotiable

✨ A conversation about creative stamina, radical honesty, and building something new—brick by brick, scene by scene.

Some careers begin with a degree. Paolo Ciccarelli’s began with a scam. (Yes, really.)

What was meant to be a short trip to London turned into a five-year detour — retail jobs, canceled plans, and a crash course in international storytelling. Now, he's one of the most trusted voices in European drama: an International Scripted Advisor for Film & TV and Head of Drama at MIA - International Audiovisual Market in Rome.

🎙️ In this deeply human (and sometimes hilarious) conversation, Paolo shares:

• What Fleabag taught him about trusting new voices

• Why saying no is often the hardest part of his job

• His soft spot for queer and underrepresented stories

• The wildest case of mistaken identity on a red carpet

• And the simple superpower that’s fueled his entire career

✨ A story about listening, letting go, and learning to trust the chaos.
This one is for anyone who’s ever made a U-turn — and found themselves in exactly the right place.

In this new episode of Unwritten+ Seriencamp Conference Special, Irina Ignatiew speaks with Samya Hafsaoui—a Dutch-Moroccan filmmaker, writer, cultural critic, and the kind of multi-hyphenate who doesn’t wait for permission—she builds her own stage.

Her debut feature is a smart, funny, deeply personal story about ADHD, fan culture, and the pressure to finish what you start—even when your brain has other plans. She’s building it from scratch: writing the screenplay, a companion novel, and a stage play. Why? Because this story matters—especially for young women of color who rarely see themselves, or their struggles, on screen.

She’s also proof that “taste freeze” is real—those teenage comfort films never let go. (Princess Diaries 2, The Devil Wears Prada, High School Musical—the rewatch game is strong, and intentional.)

But Samya isn’t just creating. She’s rethinking the whole machine:
💸 Posters in bus stops? Or paying your crew a living wage? Easy choice.
🎥 Don’t fake relatability—actually speak the audience’s language.
🔥 Art should kick something. Set something on fire. Heal something.

She’s not chasing permission. She’s building her own lane—and bringing her community with her, one radically honest TikTok at a time.

If you’ve ever felt like your work had to fit a box, Samya’s here to remind you:
Be cringe. Be excellent. Be unapologetically you.

How inspiring! 

On the latest episode of Unwritten+, Irina Ignatiew talks to Piodor Gustafsson, the producer and creative force behind Black Spark and Rainy Days — and one of the key figures shaping the rise of Scandinavian storytelling on the global stage.

We talk about:
🧠 How The Bridge was literally pulled out of the bin and turned into an international hit
🌍 Why great stories start with local roots — and how to make them resonate across borders, just like ABBA
🧬 The mushroom that launches Stockholm into intergalactic crisis in We Come In Peace
🍳 And how quiet leadership (and a killer fish roll with tapenade and lime sauce) builds lasting creative (black) sparks

We also cover the differences between public and commercial broadcasting, the art of backing the right stories, and why Piodor believes we need more mystery — not less — in storytelling.

🎙️ This one’s full of insight for producers, creators, and anyone working across cultures.

What’s it like to lead global teams, speak five languages fluently, and navigate careers at companies like Sony Pictures, Huawei, BetaFilm, and Movistar?

In this episode of Unwritten+, I speak with Maria Valenzuela, now founder of Brisa Media, to talk about building a career across borders—both geographic and cultural.

We dig into what it really means to work internationally: the unspoken rules, the misalignments, and the magic that happens when you learn to "translate" not just language, but mindset. Maria shares what it was like stepping into a Chinese tech giant as a Western woman, why she feels “a little German” after over a decade there, and how storytelling styles from different cultures can be blended to create something fresh and powerful.

We also talk about streaming fatigue, the promise and risk of AI, and why women still tend to attribute success to luck and hard work—not potential.

🎧 Whether you work across cultures, lead international teams, or just love hearing what really happens behind the scenes—this conversation is full of insight, honesty, and sharp takeaways.