David Zellner


David Zellner is an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He is best known for directing the films Kid-Thing, Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter, and Damsel.

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.
Zellner's short film Sasquatch Birth Journal 2 got into the Sundance Film Festival in 2011 and was nominated for the Sundance Short Filmmaking Award that year.
For his feature film, Kid-Thing, which he directed and wrote, Zellner won a Best Film award from the 2012 Gen Art Film Festival. Kid-Thing also received second place in the 2012 Village Voice Film Poll for "Best Undistributed Film."
For his feature film Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter, 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 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. 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."
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 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.

Personal life

David Zellner and his brother Nathan have been based in Austin, Texas for more than 20 years.

Filmography

Film

Acting roles
YearTitleRoleNotes
1997Plastic UtopiaJames
1998The CurveDeadhead #1
2001FrontierOfficer
2002I Love YouMan
2004Dear PillowPhone Man #1Voice
2004Oh My GodWitness
2006The Cassidy KidsCat Burglar
2008Untitled The Star
2008BagheadFestivalgoer
2009Cinemad Mix Tape #1Australian Priest
2009BeeswaxScott
2010TugGeno
2010Shit YearHal Ashland
2011Slacker 2011Kid with Soda #1Segment: "Boyfriends"
2012Kid-ThingCaleb
2013Ain't Them Bodies SaintsZellner
2013Love & Air SexCab Driver
2014Dignity Lamb
2014Kumiko, the Treasure HunterDeputy
2014FaultsRestaurant Manager
2015ThereThrill
2018DamselParson Henry
2018Ghostbox CowboyJimmy Van Horn
2019The Art of Self-DefenseHenry

Short film

Acting roles
YearTitleRole
2003The Meat MarketMaynard Rollins
2003RummySam
2004The Virile ManGary
2006RedemptitudePreacher
2008Pardon My Downfall

Web series

Acting roles
YearTitleRoleNotes
2004The StrangerhoodSamVoice
2005P.A.N.I.C.S.FrankVoice
2008Red vs. Blue: ReconstructionPFL TroopVoice
2010Rooster Teeth ShortsBusinessman

Music video

Director
Cinematographer