Zachary 'Zach' Heinzerling (born 1 January 1984) is an American film director. He is best known for writing and directing the 2013 documentary film '' Cutie and the Boxer'' for which he won 'Best Director' at the

2013 Sundance Film Festival The 2013 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 17, 2013, until January 27, 2013, in Park City, Utah, United States, with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah, Ogden, Utah, and Sundance, Utah. The festival had 1,830 volunteers. Films A r ...

. The film was also nominated at the 2014

Oscars The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence i ...

for Best Documentary Film.

Early life

Heinzerling was born in 1984 and grew up in Houston, Texas. His parents were teachers at the Chinquapin Preparatory School and also served as its head administrators.

Career

He began his career at

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

, where he worked as a Producer and

Cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

on various shows, including the Emmy Award-winning series ''

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''. Heinzerling's critically acclaimed debut feature, '' Cutie and the Boxer,'' premiered at the

where it won the 'Best Director' award. The film featured on many Top 10 film lists of 2013, including that of Joe Morgenstern of the ''

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'' and

A.O. Scott Anthony Oliver Scott (born July 10, 1966) is an American journalist and cultural critic, known for his film and literary criticism. After starting his career at ''The New York Review of Books'', ''Variety'', and ''Slate'', he began writing film ...

from ''

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''. The film went on to receive a field leading three 2014 Cinema Eye Honors, for Outstanding Debut Feature, Outstanding Original Score, and Outstanding Visual Effects. Heinzerling was awarded the Charles Guggenheim Emerging Artist award at the 2013 Full Frame Film Festival and was the recipient of the 2013

International Documentary Association International Documentary Association (IDA), founded in 1982, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Their major program areas are: Advocacy, Film ...

's Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award. ''Cutie and the Boxer'' went on to b, e nominated for the 2014

Directors Guild of America Award The Directors Guild of America Awards are issued annually by the Directors Guild of America. The first DGA Award was an "Honorary Life Member" award issued in 1938 to D. W. Griffith. The statues are made by New York firm, Society Awards. Cate ...

for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Documentary, and the

Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature The Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film is an award for documentary films. In 1941, the first awards for feature-length documentaries were bestowed as Academy Honorary Award, Special Awards to ''Kukan'' and ''Target for Tonight''. The ...

. Heinzerling directed a five-part web series with

Beyoncé Knowles-Carter Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

entitled ''Self-Titled'' to coincide with her 2013 album ''

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

''. In 2019, he directed an episode of ''

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'' for

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. Heinzerling directed the critically acclaimed 6-part series '' McCartney 3,2,1'' starring

Sir Paul McCartney ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part o ...

and

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (, ; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popularize hip hop by produci ...

which premiered on

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in 2021. In 2023, Heinzerling's directed the documentary series, '' Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence'', about the victims of cult leader Larry Ray.

Filmography

Film Series *''Self Titled'' *'' McCartney 3,2,1'' *'' Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence'' One-off episodes *''

'' - "The Man at the Top" (2020) *''Black Gold'' (2022)

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heinzerling, Zachary American documentary film directors Living people St. John's School (Texas) alumni Film directors from Texas 1984 births