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 (2014), and Damsel (2018).

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 (2010) 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 (2012), 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 (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. It was their widest-release and highest-budget movie to date. 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 (later revealed to have been titled Sasquatch Sunset ) 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 Feature films 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 Co-directed with Nathan Zellner 2024 Sasquatch Sunset 2026 Alpha Gang Co-directed with Nathan Zellner; Post-production

As Actor 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

Short films 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

As Actor Year Title Role 2003 The Meat Market Maynard Rollins Rummy Sam 2004 The Virile Man Gary 2006 Redemptitude Preacher 2008 Pardon My Downfall

Television Year Title Note 2023 The Curse 3 episodes

Web series Year Title Director Writer Notes 2009 FIDDLESTIXX 3 episodes

As Actor Year Title Role Notes 2004 The Strangerhood Sam Voice 2005 P.A.N.I.C.S. Frank 2008 Red vs. Blue: Reconstruction PFL Troop 2010 Rooster Teeth Shorts Businessman

Music video Director "Nutella and Gummi Bear Sandwich" (2002) "TRUCK" (2007) "This Old World" (2009) "Wet Gold" (2009) "Star Bowling" (2012)

Cinematographer "Sharpteeth" (2013)