David Zellner
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Five Questions with Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter Directors David & Nathan Zellner
David and Nathan Zellner are longtime stalwarts of the Sundance Film Festival, and the American microbudget film scene in general, carving out a niche for themselves over the last decade-plus as purveyors of a uniquely strange brand of Americana. Their feature work (including 2012’s haunting Kid-Thing) and their idiosyncratic and unforgettable shorts (Sasquatch Birth Journal 2, don’t worry, lives up to its title) have long found the Zellners fascinated with contemporary American folklore and fairy tales, and their newest film, Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter, is no exception. Based on the true story of a Japanese woman who traveled from Tokyo […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Jan 20, 2014 -
Remember to Talk about the Movies!
For those of you who are in the film business, I have some advice: when taking a meeting, remember to talk about a movie! Now, I’m not saying this as some kind of altruistic public service, as if independent film will die if you don’t get out there and talk it up. No, I’m offering it as a piece of practical self-help because, when meeting someone from the film industry, you will seem a more interesting and worthwhile person if you have something interesting to say about a movie itself! This piece of advice may seem a bit oxymoronic. I […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 8, 2013 -
Photos and Notes from the Maryland Film Festival
The Maryland Film Festival, which wrapped its 2012 edition on Sunday, is one of the East Coast’s most intimate and engaging film events. With 40 features, over 70 shorts and an amazingly healthy contingent of loyal filmmakers annually making the trip to Baltimore, Maryland functions as both a discovery festival and friendly pit stop for directors on the independent circuit. John Waters hosts a movie — this year Barbara Loden’s seminal and still influential Wanda — and takes the audience out partying afterwards; the Opening Night consists of shorts, not some star-bloated, sub-standard mini-major feature; and, for the second year […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 11, 2012 -
GHOSTHUNTING AT SUNDANCE
Take that, SyFy Channel! Producer, distributor, Cinemad founder, Sundance programmer and occasional Filmmaker contributor has passed along the second of his “Mike Plante’s Home Movie Show.” In the show notes, he writes: “Sundance 2012 filmmakers Brent Green, Don Hertzfeldt, Nicholas McCarthy and David Zellner go searching for ghosts in Park City. We find some ghosts but learn more about people who want to see ghosts.” If you are paranormally-inclined, check it out.
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 30, 2012 -
Kid-Thing | Writer/Director David Zellner
[PREMIERE SCREENING: Monday, January 23 2:30 pm –Prospector Square Theatre, Park City] Nathan and I have always wanted to study and work in film. To me it’s the ultimate art form, in that it has infinite possibilities and the unique ability to encompass and incorporate all other art forms. Even if all art is derivative, it’s that challenge: attempt to make something new in film that’s exciting to us. This was made clear to us as teenagers in the late ’80s when we were the personal videographers for Chuck Berry. Although known first and foremost as a rock-and-roll legend, he […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 23, 2012 -
“GOLIATH” writer-co-director, David Zellner
I suppose we always could have used 10 percent more daylight since we attempted to shoot as much of the film as possible during “the magic hour.” It seems that regardless of the production’s size, there’s never enough resources, financing, time. In spite of these obstacles our shoot went smoothly and was a really liberating, fun experience. This was in no small part due to our friends and collaborators who filled in the gaps otherwise created by our budget limitations. These limitations also forced us to be resourceful and creative in ways that positively contributed to the film’s overall aesthetic. […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Jan 17, 2008
