His feature debut, Chapter 27 (2007), premiered and received substantial media and critical attention at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.
After graduating, he worked as an editor at Fade In magazine and as a videostore clerk while writing scripts and poetry in his spare time.
[1] Schaefer made his feature-length debut in 2007 with Chapter 27, a biographical film depicting the murder of John Lennon by Mark David Chapman.
With the help of producers Alexandra Milchan and Robert Salerno, Schaefer cast Jared Leto as Mark David Chapman.
[2] The film received substantial accolades from critics who praised the depiction of the mental state of Mark David Chapman in the days leading up the murder of John Lennon in December 1980.