Suzi Yoonessi facts for kids

Suzi Yoonessi, born on February 21, 1978, is an American filmmaker. She creates movies and TV shows. She wrote and directed the award-winning movie Dear Lemon Lima. She also directed Unlovable and Daphne and Velma for Warner Brothers. Her short films No Shoulder and Dear Lemon Lima are available to watch through special companies. Her documentary film Vern is also available and is kept in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Suzi Yoonessi's Early Life

Suzi Yoonessi was born in Buffalo, New York. She went to Nichols School there. In the early 1990s, Suzi was part of Buffalo's first all-female band called Bertha Mason. This was during the Riot Grrrl movement, which was about girls' empowerment.

Suzi studied photography and film at the San Francisco Art Institute. After she graduated, she worked for Surface Magazine. She then moved to New York to make films. She received a special grant from the Jerome Foundation for her documentary film Vern. Suzi earned her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from Columbia University School of the Arts. She won the FMI Directing Fellowship there. Today, she lives in Los Angeles. She works as a director at Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Directing Movies and Shows

Suzi Yoonessi's first full-length movie was Dear Lemon Lima. It was shown for the first time at the Los Angeles Film Festival. The movie received great reviews and won a special award for its amazing acting.

Dear Lemon Lima was shown at over 80 film festivals. It won awards chosen by the audience and a grand prize at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. The movie was released around the world. Then, it came out in the U.S. on video-on-demand (VOD) and in theaters.

Suzi's second movie, Unlovable, also won a special award at the SXSW Film Festival. It was released by Orion Classics. Suzi also directed The Spring of Sorrow for a TV series called FutureStates. She directed the popular show The Dead Girls Detective Agency for Snap Originals. In 2019, it was announced that Suzi is creating a new film with Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Awards and Recognitions

Suzi Yoonessi has won many awards for her work in film:

• 2018 Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Directing
• 2018 Special Jury Recognition at the SXSW Film Festival
• 2017 Sun Valley Film Lab Award Winner
• 2014 Funny or Die's 1st Annual Make Em' LAFF Award - Los Angeles Film Festival
• 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
• 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
• 2009 Grand Jury Prize - San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
• 2009 Outstanding Performance (Shayne Topp) - Los Angeles Film Festival
• 2008 Tribeca All Access On Track Grant
• 2008 Film Independent Kodak Grant
• 2007 National Geographic All Roads Film Grant
• 2006 Jerome Foundation NYC Media Arts Grant
• 2002 Jerome Foundation NYC Media Arts Grant

Suzi Yoonessi's Filmography

Here are some of the films and shows Suzi Yoonessi has worked on:

As a 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 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 film)
• 2005 No Shoulder
• 2004 Vern

As a Producer

• 2005 Me and You and Everyone We Know (Associate Producer)
• 2004 Vern
• 2001 3 Weeks After Paradise