David Zellner

David Zellner
David Zellner at Berlinale 2018
Born	Greeley, Colorado, United States
Nationality	American
Occupation(s)	Film director, screenwriter, actor
Years active	1997–present

David Zellner is an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He lives and works in Austin, Texas. Zellner is best known for directing the films Kid-Thing (2012) and Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014).

Career

David Zellner started his career by studying at the University of Texas film school and then staged exclusively Independent feature films and short films. He always works together with his younger brother Nathan Zellner under the name Zellner Bros.

For his feature film Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014), starring Oscar-nominated actress Rinko Kikuchi, which he directed and acted in, and co-wrote with his brother Nathan Zellner, he won a Best Director Jury Prize award at the 2014 Fantasia Film Festival. The film also won an Audience Award for Best Film and Special Jury Award at the 2014 Las Palmas Film Festival. At the 2014 Little Rock Film Festival, the film won the Golden Rock Narrative Award for Best Feature Film, and at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, the film won a U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Musical Score (by The Octopus Project) and was also nominated for the U.S. Grand Jury Dramatic Prize. Furthermore, at the 2014 Nantucket Film Festival, David and his brother Nathan won the Showtime Tony Cox Award for Best Screenwriting in a Feature Film for their screenplay Kumiko. Kumiko also won a "Most Original Film" award at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival. David was nominated for a Best Director Independent Spirit Award in 2014 for directing the film, with lead actress Rinko Kikuchi who was nominated for a Best Female Lead Actress Independent Spirit Award. Additionally, for his producing work on Kumiko and several other films, Producer Chris Ohlson received the Independent Spirit Award's Piaget Producers Award.

For his feature film, Kid-Thing (2012), which he directed and wrote, David won a Best Film award from the 2012 Gen Art Film Festival. He also received 2nd place in a Village Voice Film Poll for "Best Undistributed Film."

David's short film Sasquatch Birth Journal 2 (2010), got into the Sundance Film Festival in 2011 and was nominated for the Sundance Short Filmmaking Award that year.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Plastic Utopia	James	Also director, co-writer, producer, editor
1998	The Curve	Deadhead #1
2001	Frontier	Officer	Also director, writer
2002	"Nutella and Gummi Bear Sandwich"		Music video; director
2002	I Love You	Man
2003	The Meat Market	Maynard Rollins	Short film
2003	Rummy	Sam	Short film; also director
2004	The Virile Man	Gary	Short film; director, writer
2004	Quasar Hernandez		Short film; director, writer
2004	Dear Pillow	Phone Man #1	Voice
2004	Oh My God	Witness
2005	Foxy and the Weight of the World		Short film; director, writer
2005	Flotsam/Jetsam		Short film; director, writer
2005	Who Is On First?		Short film; director
2006	The Cassidy Kids	Cat Burglar
2006	Redemptitude	Preacher	Short film; director, writer
2007	"TRUCK"		Music video; director
2007	Aftermath on Meadowlark Lane		Short film; director, writer
2008	Untitled (Thanks, Get in...)	The Star
2008	Goliath		Also director, writer
2008	Baghead	Festivalgoer
2008	Pardon My Downfall		Short film
2009	"This Old World"		Music video; director
2009	"Wet Gold"		Music video; director
2009	Cinemad Mix Tape #1	Australian Priest	Co-director
2009	Beeswax	Scott
2010	Tug	Geno
2010	Shit Year	Hal Ashland
2010	Sasquatch Birth Journal 2		Short film; co-director, co-writer
2010	Hexadecagon		Director
2011	Slacker 2011	Kid with Soda #1	Segment: "Boyfriends"; director
2012	"Star Bowling"		Music video; co-director
2012	Kid-Thing	Caleb	Also director, writer
2013	"Sharpteeth"		Music video, cinematographer
2013	Ain't Them Bodies Saints	Zellner
2013	Love and Air Sex	Cab Driver
2014	Dignity	Lamb
2014	Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter	Deputy	Also director, writer
2014	Faults	Restaurant Manager
2015	There	Thrill
2018	Damsel	Parson Henry	Writer, director
2018	Ghostbox Cowboy	Jimmy Van Horn
2019	The Art of Self Defense	Henry

Web series

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003	The Strangerhood	Sam	Voice
2008	Red vs. Blue: Reconstruction	PFL Troop	Voice
2009	FIDDLESTIXX		3 episodes; director, writer
2010	Rooster Teeth Shorts	Businessman

External links

• David Zellner at IMDb
• Official Website of Zellner Bros.