Suzi Yoonessi (born February 21, 1978) is an American filmmaker. She wrote and directed the award-winning feature film '' Dear Lemon Lima'', and directed the Duplass Brothers film '' Unlovable'' and '' Daphne and Velma'' for

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

. Yoonessi's short films ''No Shoulder'' and '' Dear Lemon Lima'' are distributed by Shorts International and Vanguard Cinema and her documentary film ''Vern'' is distributed by National Film Network and is in the permanent collection of the

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern art, modern and contemporary art museum and nonprofit organization located in San Francisco, California. SFMOMA was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th-century art ...

Biography

Suzi Yoonessi was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, where she attended

Nichols School Nichols School is a private, non-denominational, co-educational college-University-preparatory school, preparatory day school in Buffalo, New York, United States. The average enrollment is 565 students with an average Upper School grade/class s ...

. Yoonessi was a member of Buffalo's first

all-female band An all-female band is a musical ensemble, musical group in popular music that is exclusively composed of female musicians. This is distinct from a girl group, in which the female members are solely vocalists, though this terminology is not universa ...

Bertha Mason during the

Riot Grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington, and the greater Pacific Northwest, and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. A subcultural movement ...

movement in the early 90s. Yoonessi studied photography and film at the

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a Private college, private art school, college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mis ...

. Upon graduation, she worked for ''

Surface Magazine ''Surface'' is an American publication covering design, architecture, fashion, culture and travel; with print and digital publications. The publication has an online presence through the ''Design Dispatch'' daily newsletter, as well as through ...

'' in the editorial department and moved to New York to pursue filmmaking after being awarded a

Jerome Foundation James Jerome Hill II (March 2, 1905 – November 21, 1972) was an American filmmaker and artist known for his award-winning documentary and experimental films, one of which won him an Academy Award. Career Hill was the child of railroad executiv ...

grant for her documentary film ''Vern''. Yoonessi received her MFA from

Columbia University School of the Arts The Columbia University School of the Arts (also known as School of the Arts or SoA) is the fine arts graduate school of Columbia University in Morningside Heights, New York (state), New York. It offers Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees in Film, ...

where she was the recipient of the FMI Directing Fellowship. She currently resides in Los Angeles and is a director at

Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that produces animated feature films and short films for the Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a s ...

Directing

Suzi Yoonessi's first feature film '' Dear Lemon Lima'' premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival where it received critical acclaim and a jury prize for Outstanding Performance. The film went on to play in over 80 film festivals, picking up audience awards and a grand jury prize at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. The film was released internationally, then domestically on VOD and in theaters in Los Angeles and New York by Phase 4 Films. Yoonessi's sophomore film ''Unlovable'' received a special jury recognition at the

SXSW 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 ...

, and was released by

Orion Classics Orion Classics started in 1982 as the distribution label for the then independent film production company Orion Pictures, now owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It was relaunched in May 2018. The original focus of 1980-era Orion Classics was on acqui ...

. Yoonessi directed ''The Spring of Sorrow'' for the Independent Television Service series FutureStates and the hit series
The Dead Girls Detective Agency
' for Snap Originals. In October 2019, it was announced that Yoonessi is developing an original film with

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

on her film '' Mother Wolf'', starring

Melissa Leo Melissa Chessington Leo (born September 14, 1960) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and two Critics' Choice A ...

, took place in

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley or Hudson River Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The region stretches from the Capital District (New York), Capital District includi ...

in New York State in August 2024.

Awards

* 2018

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

Nomination Outstanding Directing * 2018 Special Jury Recognition

* 2017 Sun Valley Film Lab Award Winner *2014 Funny or Die's 1st Annual Make Em' LAFF Award -

Los Angeles Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episodi ...

*2010 Camério Irvin Pelletier Humanitas - Festival International de Cinema Jeunesse de Rimouski *2010 Camério Hydro-Québec - Festival International de Cinema Jeunesse de Rimouski *2010 Miloš Macourek Award - Film Festival Zlín *2009 Audience Award -

Woodstock Film Festival The Woodstock Film Festival is an American film festival launched in 2000 by filmmakers Meira Blaustein and Laurent Rejto in the Hudson Valley region of New York. The festival takes place each fall in the towns of Woodstock, Rosendale and Saug ...

*2009 Audience Award - Anchorage International Film Festival *2009 Emerging Star Award (Savanah Wiltfong) - Anchorage International Film Festival *2009 Spirit of Independence - Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival *2009 Finalist, Bandeira Paulista -

São Paulo International Film Festival The São Paulo International Film Festival (), also known internationally as Mostra, is an annual film festival held in the city of São Paulo, Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South Ame ...

*2009 Grand Jury Prize -

San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival CAAMFest, known prior to 2013 as the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), is presented every May (Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month) in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States as the nation's ...

*2009 Outstanding Performance (Shayne Topp) -

*2008 Tribeca All Access On Track Grant *2008 Film Independent Kodak Grant *2007

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

All Roads Film Grant *2006 Jerome Foundation NYC Media Arts Grant *2002 Jerome Foundation NYC Media Arts Grant

Filmography

Director

*2019 ''Insatiable'' *2018 ''The Dead Girls Detective Agency'' *2018 ''Unlovable'' *2018 '' Daphne and Velma'' *2017 ''Relationship Status'' *2015 ''Olive and Mocha: First Kiss'' *2015 ''Troop Hood'' *2015 ''

Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street ''Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street'' is an American live action, magic realism family television series created by David Anaxagoras that was initially streamed for two seasons (2014–16) on Amazon Prime Video. The series, follows young G ...

- Gortimer and the Lost Treasure of Normal Street'' *2011 ''Olive and Mocha: Fast Times at Sugar High'' *2010 ''The Spring of Sorrow'' *2009 '' Dear Lemon Lima'' *2006 ''Dear Lemon Lima'' short *2005 ''No Shoulder'' *2004 ''Vern''

Producer

*2005 ''

Me and You and Everyone We Know ''Me and You and Everyone We Know'' is a 2005 Romance film, romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Miranda July. She also acts in the starring role, opposite John Hawkes (actor), John Hawkes. The film was the first major studio produc ...

'' (Associate Producer) *2004 ''Vern'' *2001 ''3 Weeks After Paradise''

References

External links

Suzi Yoonessi's Official site
* * *
Netflix

Flux

Video Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoonessi, Suzi American people of Iranian descent American women screenwriters 1978 births Living people American women film directors Writers from Buffalo, New York Writers from Los Angeles Columbia University School of the Arts alumni San Francisco Art Institute alumni Film directors from Los Angeles Screenwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from California 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American screenwriters Film directors from New York (state)