| Birth Place: | Greeley, Colorado, United States |
| Occupation: | Film director, screenwriter, actor |
| Years Active: | 1997–present |
David Zellner is an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He is best known for directing the films Kid-Thing (2012), Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014), and Damsel (2018).
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.[1]
Zellner'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.[2]
For his feature film, Kid-Thing (2012), which he directed and wrote, Zellner won a Best Film award from the 2012 Gen Art Film Festival.[3] Kid-Thing also received second place in the 2012 Village Voice Film Poll for "Best Undistributed Film."[4]
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.
In 2018, Zellner released Damsel, a black comedy Western starring Robert Pattinson and Mia Wasikowska and codirected and cowritten with his brother.[5] It was their widest-release and highest-budget movie to date. The film tells the story of a pioneer on the American frontier seeking to rescue his would-be-bride from an apparent kidnapping. Damsel received largely positive reviews. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 68% based on 117 reviews, and an average rating of 6.4/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The beautifully filmed Damsel injects the western genre with a welcome dose of humor and some unexpected twists, although its stately pace may frustrate impatient viewers."[6]
Zellner then appeared as an actor in Riley Stearns' 2019 black comedy martial arts film The Art of Self-Defense, playing opposite Jesse Eisenberg.
In 2022, IndieWire described the Zellner brothers as having two projects in development: an as-yet-untitled sasquatch film (later revealed to have been titled Sasquatch Sunset[7]) that would star Jesse Eisenberg as Bigfoot, and a science fiction film titled Alpha Gang starring Nicholas Hoult and Jon Hamm, about aliens deciding whether to invade Earth.[8]
David Zellner and his brother Nathan have been based in Austin, Texas for more than 20 years.[9]
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Plastic Utopia | Also producer and editor | |||
| 2001 | Frontier | ||||
| 2008 | Goliath | ||||
| 2009 | Cinemad Mix Tape #1 | ||||
| 2010 | Hexadecagon | ||||
| 2011 | Slacker 2011 | Segment "Boyfriends" | |||
| 2012 | Kid-Thing | ||||
| 2014 | Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter | ||||
| 2018 | Damsel | ||||
| 2024 | Sasquatch Sunset |
Acting roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Plastic Utopia | James | |
| 1998 | The Curve | Deadhead #1 | |
| 2001 | Frontier | Officer | |
| 2002 | I Love You | Man | |
| 2004 | Dear Pillow | Phone Man #1 | Voice |
| Oh My God | Witness | ||
| 2006 | The Cassidy Kids | Cat Burglar | |
| 2008 | Untitled (Thanks, Get in...) | The Star | |
| Baghead | Festivalgoer | ||
| 2009 | Cinemad Mix Tape #1 | Australian Priest | |
| Beeswax | Scott | ||
| 2010 | Tug | Geno | |
| Shit Year | Hal Ashland | ||
| 2011 | Slacker 2011 | Kid with Soda #1 | Segment: "Boyfriends" |
| 2012 | Kid-Thing | Caleb | |
| 2013 | Ain't Them Bodies Saints | Zellner | |
| Love & Air Sex | Cab Driver | ||
| 2014 | Dignity | Lamb | |
| Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter | Deputy | ||
| Faults | Restaurant Manager | ||
| 2015 | There | Thrill | |
| 2018 | Damsel | Parson Henry | |
| Ghostbox Cowboy | Jimmy Van Horn | ||
| 2019 | The Art of Self-Defense | Henry | |
| Year | Title | Director | Writer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Rummy | ||
| 2004 | The Virile Man | ||
| Quasar Hernandez | |||
| 2005 | Foxy and the Weight of the World | ||
| Flotsam/Jetsam | |||
| Who Is On First? | |||
| 2006 | Redemptitude | ||
| 2007 | Aftermath on Meadowlark Lane | ||
| 2010 | Sasquatch Birth Journal 2 | ||
Acting roles
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | The Meat Market | Maynard Rollins |
| Rummy | Sam | |
| 2004 | The Virile Man | Gary |
| 2006 | Redemptitude | Preacher |
| 2008 | Pardon My Downfall | |
Acting roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | The Strangerhood | Sam | Voice |
| 2005 | P.A.N.I.C.S. | Frank | |
| 2008 | PFL Troop | ||
| 2010 | Rooster Teeth Shorts | Businessman | |
Director
Cinematographer