Suzi Yoonessi
Encyclopedia
Suzi Yoonessi is an Iranian-American filmmaker living in Los Angeles, CA. She wrote and directed the award-winning feature film Dear Lemon Lima
, and The Spring of Sorrow for the Independent Television Service (ITVS) online FutureStates series. 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
.
. Yoonessi was a member of Buffalo's first all-girl band Bertha Mason during the Riot Grrrl movement in the early 90s. Yoonessi studied photography and film at the San Francisco Art Institute. Upon graduation, she worked for Surface Magazine in the editorial department and moved to New York to pursue filmmaking after being awarded a Jerome Foundation grant for her documentary film Vern. Yoonessi received her MFA from Columbia University's School of the Arts where she was the recipient of the FMI Directing Fellowship. She currently resides in Los Angeles.
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 directed The Spring of Sorrow for the Independent Television Service FutureStates series.
PRODUCER
Dear Lemon Lima
Dear Lemon Lima is a 2009 family comedy feature film written and directed by Suzi Yoonessi. Based on her short film of the same name and developed with the support of Film Independent and its Filmmaker Labs, this film is about a 13-year-old half-Yup’ik girl navigating her way through first...
, and The Spring of Sorrow for the Independent Television Service (ITVS) online FutureStates series. Yoonessi's short films No Shoulder and Dear Lemon Lima
Dear Lemon Lima
Dear Lemon Lima is a 2009 family comedy feature film written and directed by Suzi Yoonessi. Based on her short film of the same name and developed with the support of Film Independent and its Filmmaker Labs, this film is about a 13-year-old half-Yup’ik girl navigating her way through first...
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
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a modern art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art and was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th century art...
.
Biography
Suzi Yoonessi was born in Buffalo, New York, where she attended Nichols SchoolNichols School
Nichols School is a private, non-denominational, co-educational college-preparatory day school located in Buffalo, New York, USA. The average enrollment is 570 students with an average Upper School grade/class size of 98 students...
. Yoonessi was a member of Buffalo's first all-girl band Bertha Mason during the Riot Grrrl movement in the early 90s. Yoonessi studied photography and film at the San Francisco Art Institute. Upon graduation, she worked for Surface Magazine in the editorial department and moved to New York to pursue filmmaking after being awarded a Jerome Foundation grant for her documentary film Vern. Yoonessi received her MFA from Columbia University's School of the Arts where she was the recipient of the FMI Directing Fellowship. She currently resides in Los Angeles.
Directing
Suzi Yoonessi's first feature film Dear Lemon LimaDear Lemon Lima
Dear Lemon Lima is a 2009 family comedy feature film written and directed by Suzi Yoonessi. Based on her short film of the same name and developed with the support of Film Independent and its Filmmaker Labs, this film is about a 13-year-old half-Yup’ik girl navigating her way through first...
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 directed The Spring of Sorrow for the Independent Television Service FutureStates series.
Awards
- 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 ZlínFilm Festival ZlínZlín International Film Festival for Children and Youth is a film festival for young audiences, and is one of the oldest festivals of its kind in the world. Due to the dramatic expansion of its scope over the last few years, it can also be counted among the largest film events of its kind worldwide...
- 2009 Audience Award - Woodstock Film FestivalWoodstock Film FestivalThe Woodstock Film Festival is an American film festival that was begun in 1999. The festival was first conceived as a part of the Woodstock '99 Music and Arts Festival, with movies being screened as part of that event.-History:...
- 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 FestivalSão Paulo International Film FestivalThe São Paulo International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in São Paulo, Brazil since 1976. In 2004 Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami was a member of the jury.-International Jury Award:*2001: The New Country ...
- 2009 Grand Jury Prize - San Francisco International Asian American Film FestivalSan Francisco International Asian American Film FestivalThe San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival presented every March is the nation’s largest showcase for new Asian American and Asian films, annually presenting approximately 130 works in San Francisco, Berkeley and San Jose, USA...
- 2009 Outstanding Performance (Shayne Topp) - Los Angeles Film FestivalLos Angeles Film FestivalThe Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by the Los Angeles Times is an event held annually in June in downtown Los Angeles, California. The Los Angeles Film Festival began as the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival in 1995. The first LAIFF took place over the course of five days in a single...
- 2008 Tribeca All Access On Track Grant
- 2008 Film Independent FIND Kodak Grant
- 2007 National Geographic All Roads Film Grant
- 2006 Jerome Foundation NYC Media Arts Grant
- 2002 Jerome Foundation NYC Media Arts Grant
Filmography
DIRECTOR- 2010 The Spring of Sorrow
- 2009 Dear Lemon LimaDear Lemon LimaDear Lemon Lima is a 2009 family comedy feature film written and directed by Suzi Yoonessi. Based on her short film of the same name and developed with the support of Film Independent and its Filmmaker Labs, this film is about a 13-year-old half-Yup’ik girl navigating her way through first...
- 2006 Dear Lemon Lima short
- 2005 No Shoulder
- 2004 Vern
PRODUCER
- 2005 Me and You and Everyone We KnowMe and You and Everyone We KnowMe and You and Everyone We Know is a 2005 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Miranda July and stars July, John Hawkes, Miles Thompson, Brandon Ratcliff, Natasha Slayton, Najarra Townsend, Carlie Westerman, and JoNell Kennedy.-Plot:The structure of the film consists of...
(Associate Producer) - 2004 Vern
- 2001 3 Weeks After Paradise"
External links
- Official site
- [Netflix http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Suzi_Yoonessi/30118746]
- http://flux.net/who-is-suzi-yoonessi at Flux.net
- Video Interview http://www.metacafe.com/tags/suzi_yoonessi/ at Metacafe.com
- http://futurestates.tv/episodes/spring-of-sorrow