Astrid Carlen-Helmer

Astrid Carlen-Helmer is a TV writer specializing in YA genre and animation, with a very special place in her heart for fantasy and gripping mysteries. Astrid combines her passion for writing flawed and complex female characters with a love for magical realism.

Born and raised in France, Astrid trained as a writer and director at the London Film School, from which she holds an MA in filmmaking. She also holds a BA in film studies and another one in modern literature.

She wrote and directed the short film Besides That, Life is Grand (OFFICIAL SELECTION, Short Stop Intl Film Fest, 2016, Lone Star Film Festival, 2016), and then started her career as a film editor in Los Angeles, editing features such as Speaking in Tongues (OFFICIAL SELECTION, Austin Film Festival, 2018).

She went on to become a creative executive for blackpills, a digital media studio where she was able to channel her passion for young-adult content by developing a slate of shows (Bonding, Netflix) with partners like Anonymous Content, Pulse Films, Adaptive Studios. Astrid was then hired as the head of development of a French/American production company, in order to tell multicultural stories for a global audience, like The Chef in a Truck (Netflix/Wild Bunch).

Astrid is an alum of the 2020 WOMEN IN ANIMATION MENTORING PROGRAM. Her YA animated fantasy project, Ambrosantia was optioned by the French, Newen Studios-based production label "Aux Singuliers". She is author of The Demon King's Interpreter, a YA romance fantasy novel for an online platform.