Leah Meyerhoff (born December 4, 1979) is an American Student Academy Award-nominated

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, producer and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

. She has received attention as the writer and director of the feature film '' I Believe in Unicorns'' starring

Natalia Dyer Natalia Danielle Dyer (born January 13, 1995) is an American actress. She is known for starring as Nancy Wheeler in the Netflix science fiction horror series ''Stranger Things'' (2016–present). She has also appeared in the Peacock comedy thril ...

and Peter Vack. Her films have screened in over 200 film festivals worldwide and won over a dozen international awards.

Biography

Leah Meyerhoff was born in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and attended Berkeley High School. She graduated with Honors from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

with a bachelor's degree in

Art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

Semiotics Semiotics ( ) is the systematic study of sign processes and the communication of meaning. In semiotics, a sign is defined as anything that communicates intentional and unintentional meaning or feelings to the sign's interpreter. Semiosis is a ...

and a master's degree in Film at

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 ...

(NYU). Her debut feature film '' I Believe in Unicorns'' premiered at

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

in 2014 and won the grand jury prize at the Atlanta Film Festival. While at NYU, Meyerhoff directed ''

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle c ...

'', a short film portraying a young girl's irrational fear that her mother's disability is contagious. ''

'' kicked off the film festival circuit by winning a Grand Jury Prize at the

Slamdance Film Festival The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival is held in Los Angeles in late February and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization. The organization ...

and becoming a finalist in the

Student Academy Awards The Student Academy Awards are presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in an annual competition for college and university filmmakers. Description The awards were originally named the Student Film Awards and were first pres ...

. It has since screened in over 200 film festivals, won a dozen awards, and was picked up for distribution by

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

and the

Independent Film Channel IFC is an American basic cable channel owned by AMC Networks. Launched in 1994 as the Independent Film Channel, a spin-off of former sister channel Bravo, IFC originally operated as a commercial-free service, devoted to showing independent fi ...

. Meyerhoff has since completed several music videos and commercials, including '' Team Queen'', a Planet Out finalist which aired on

Logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...

, ''

Eternal Flame An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which ca ...

'', which was in rotation on

MTV Europe MTV Global (formerly MTV Europe) is the international version of the American TV channel MTV as 24-hour music video and entertainment pay television network officially launched on 1 August 1987 as part of the worldwide MTV network. Initia ...

, and ''Like Our Fathers''. Meyerhoff has received press mention from ''The

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'',

Film Threat ''Film Threat'' is an American online film review publication, and earlier, a national magazine that focused primarily on independent film, although it also reviewed videos and DVDs of mainstream films, as well as Hollywood movies in theaters. ...

, Flavorpill, ''The

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'' and numerous other publications. Meyerhoff was also profiled in the docu-drama series ''Film School'', directed by

Nanette Burstein Nanette Burstein (born May 23, 1970) is an American film and television director. Burstein has produced, directed, and co-directed several documentaries including the Academy Award nominated and Sundance Special Jury Prize winning film '' On the ...

(''

The Kid Stays in the Picture ''The Kid Stays in the Picture'' is a 1994 print autobiography by film producer Robert Evans. A film adaptation of the book was released in 2002. The title comes from a line attributed to studio head Darryl F. Zanuck, who was defending Evans a ...

''), which continues to air on IFC. In addition, Meyerhoff has taught directing and editing courses at

, The

New York Film Academy New York Film Academy – School of Film and Acting (NYFA) is a Private college, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit film school and Drama school, acting school based in New York City, Los Angeles metropolitan ar ...

, and The

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a Private university, private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which gr ...

. She has been a programmer for several film festivals and was recently a member of the HollyShorts and

narrative juries. Meyerhoff is also the founder of

Film Fatales Film Fatales is a non-profit which advocates for parity in the entertainment industry and supports a community of women feature film directors who meet regularly to mentor each other, collaborate on projects and share resources. History The group w ...

, an advocacy group for women feature film and television directors.

Filmography

*'' I Believe in Unicorns'' (2014) *''Like Our Fathers'' (2011) *''

'' (2007) *''The Heist'' (2006) *'' Team Queen'' (2006) *''

'' (2005) *''Packaged Goods'' (2003) *''Neurotica'' (2002) *''Wonderfluff Sandwiches'' (2001)

Awards

Twitch Awards

Avignon Film Festival {{unreferenced, date=November 2021 The Avignon Film Festival (created 1984), also known as the Avignon/New York Film Festival or Rencontres Cinématographiques Franco-Américain d'Avignon, took place every year in Avignon, France along with a twin ...

— Best American Short

Unicorns Awards

Independent Feature Project The Gotham Film & Media Institute (also simply the Gotham), formerly known as the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), is a membership-based, not-for-profit organization dedicated to independent film. It offers programs that assist independent fi ...

— Emerging Narrative Filmmaker Grant *

Atlanta Film Festival The Atlanta Film Festival (ATLFF) is an international film festival held in Atlanta, Georgia and operated by the Atlanta Film Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Started in 1976 and occurring every spring, the festival shows a diverse r ...

— Grand Jury Prize

References

External links

official site
* *

Brown University Alumni Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyerhoff, Leah American music video directors Berkeley High School (Berkeley, California) alumni American women film directors Living people American women screenwriters New York Film Academy Female music video directors Screenwriters from San Francisco Brown University alumni New York University faculty School of the Art Institute of Chicago faculty Tisch School of the Arts alumni Film directors from San Francisco 1979 births