Hannah Pearl Utt (born February 22, 1987) is an American filmmaker and actress best known for the 2019 film '' Before You Know It'' and the 2023 film '' Cora Bora''.

Early life and education

Utt was raised in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

. After initially enrolling at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

, she graduated with a bachelor's degree from the

Gallatin School of Individualized Study The Gallatin School of Individualized Study is a liberal arts school within New York University. Students at Gallatin design an interdisciplinary concentration based on their specific interests and career goals. Most courses can be taken at any ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Career

While at UCLA in the late 2000s, Utt appeared alongside her fellow students in the web series ''

Dorm Life ''Dorm Life'' is a mockumentary web series created by former students of UCLA. It follows the fictional lives of the inhabitants of the college dorm floor 5 South. It is produced by Attention Span Media, a Los Angeles based social media studio ...

''. From 2015 to 2016, Utt directed and starred in the series ''Disengaged'' for

Super Deluxe Super Deluxe was an entertainment company owned by Turner Broadcasting. Founded by Wolfgang Hammer in 2007, the company's main output was in online video, television series, and documentaries. History Turner Broadcasting System announced the l ...

. She co-wrote the series with her fellow series star Jen Tullock, with whom she previously collaborated on the short film ''Partners''. Utt appeared in a small role in the 2017 film ''

Ingrid Goes West ''Ingrid Goes West'' is a 2017 American black comedy drama film directed by Matt Spicer and written by Spicer and David Branson Smith. The film stars Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, Billy Magnussen, Wyatt Russell, Pom Klementieff, and O'Shea Jac ...

''. '' Before You Know It'', Utt's feature directorial debut, premiered at the

2019 Sundance Film Festival The 2019 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 24 to February 3, 2019. The first lineup of competition films was announced on November 28, 2018. Films U.S. Dramatic Competition * '' Before You Know It'' by Hannah Pearl Utt * '' ...

. Utt had written the screenplay for the project with Tullock and the two starred in the feature alongside

Judith Light Judith Ellen Light (born February 9, 1949) is an American actress. She made her professional stage debut in 1970, before making her Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of ''A Doll's House''. Her breakthrough role was in the ABC daytime soap oper ...

, Oona Yaffe, and

Mandy Patinkin Mandel "Mandy" Bruce Patinkin (; born November 30, 1952) is an American actor and singer, known for his work in musical theatre, television, and film. As a critically acclaimed Broadway (theatre), Broadway performer he has collaborated with Step ...

. That year, she was named as one of "25 Female Filmmakers to Watch" by '' IndieWire''. In 2023, Utt's second feature film '' Cora Bora'' starring Meg Stalter premiered at the

South by Southwest Film Festival South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has continued growing in both s ...

Personal life

Utt resides in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Filmography

Film

Web series

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Utt, Hannah Pearl 1987 births Actresses from Santa Barbara, California Film directors from California Living people New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Study alumni