Kit Zauhar

Kit Zauhar
Born1995 (age 29–30)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter, actress

Kit Zauhar (born 1995) is an Asian American filmmaker best known for the feature films Actual People and This Closeness.[1][2]

Early life

Zauhar was born in Philadelphia. Her mother is a Chinese immigrant who came to the United States to study medicine, while her father is white. She has one sister. In high school, Zauhar directed her first short film, titled It Was Fall.

Education

Zauhar graduated from New York University in 2017. She later enrolled in a Master of Fine Arts program in nonfiction writing at Columbia University, but left the program after a year amid the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to finish work on her first feature film.[3][4]

Career

While attending NYU, Zauhar wrote and directed the short film Helicopter, released in 2016.[5] Her 2018 short film Terrestrials, about a device that allows people to meet for anonymous sex on the metaphysical plane, was recognized with the Best Screenplay award in the International Short Film Competition during the 2019 Fantasia International Film Festival.[6][7]

Zauhar wrote, directed, and starred in her debut feature, Actual People, an autofictional work inspired by her her final week at NYU which premiered at the 2021 Locarno Film Festival.[4][8][2] Her 2023 film This Closeness, about a weekend in the life of a young couple renting a home from an awkward host in Philadelphia, debuted at the South by Southwest Film Festival; Factory 25 acquired the film for a limited theatrical run the following year.[2][9]

In June 2024, Variety reported that Zauhar would adapt a film adaptation of the 2010 Sheila Heti novel How Should a Person Be? for Neon Heart Productions, the company that produced This Closeness.[10]

Filmography

Year Title Notes Ref.
2016 Helicopter Short film [5]
2018 The Terrestrials Short film [7]
2021 Actual People — [2]
2023 This Closeness — [2]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2019 Fantasia International Film Festival Best Screenplay, International Short Film Competition The Terrestrials Won [6]
2021 Locarno Film Festival Filmmakers of the Present Competition Actual People Nominated [8]
2022 Indie Memphis Film Festival Duncan Williams Best Screenplay Award Won [11]
Slamdance Film Festival Outstanding Performance in a Feature Film Nominated [12]
Jeonju International Film Festival International Competition Nominated [13]
2023 South by Southwest Film Festival Narrative Spotlight This Closeness Nominated [14]
Champs-Élysées Film Festival American Feature Film Competition Nominated [15]
Seattle International Film Festival New American Cinema Competition Special Jury Prize Won [16]
Valencia International Cinema Jove Film Festival Young Jury Award for Best Feature Film Won [17]
Philadelphia Film Festival Best Local Feature Nominated [18]

References

  1. ^ "About". KitZauhar. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e Ntim, Zac. "Kit Zauhar Lands North American Distribution For SXSW Competition Title 'This Closeness' Via Factory 25, IFC Center To Launch Theatrical Run". Deadline. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  3. ^ Pollak, Sam. "Kit Zauhar's Actual People Was Made by Actual People". The Provincetown Independent. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b Hamrah, A.S. "Quote-Unquote Cringe: Kit Zauhar on Her Debut Feature, Actual People". Screen Slate. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b Minsoo Kim, Joshua. "Film Show 039: Kit Zauhar". Tone Glow. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  6. ^ a b Ferguson, Liz. "Fantasia 2019: Here are the award-winning films of the 23rd edition of the Fantasia Film Festival". Mostly Movies. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  7. ^ a b Prestridge, James. "The Future Of Sex And Intimacy: An Interview With 'The Terrestrials' Director Kit Zauhar". Close Up Culture. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Interview with the Director". Locarno Film Festivcak. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  9. ^ Felperin, Leslie. "'This Closeness' Review: A Couple and Their Airbnb Host Get Acquainted in an Astute Dramedy of Awkwardness". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  10. ^ Lang, Brent. "'This Closeness' Director Kit Zauhar Adapting 'How Should a Person Be?' for 'Shiva Baby' Producer Neon Heart Productions (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  11. ^ "25th Annual Indie Memphis Film Festival Announces Jury & Festival Awards". Indie Memphis. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  12. ^ "Announcing the Slamdance 2022 Award Winners". Slamdance. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  13. ^ "'Actual People' by Kit Zauhar shows that struggle and confusion are just a part of life". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  14. ^ "This Closeness". SXSW Schedule. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  15. ^ "This Closeness". Champs-Élysées Film Festival. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  16. ^ "20,000 Species of Bees, Dancing Queen, Next Sohee, The Fishbowl, Mutt, Against The Tide, and 26.2 to Life win top awards at 49th Annual Seattle International Film Festival". Seattle International Film Festival. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  17. ^ "List of Winners 38th Edition". Cinema Jove. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  18. ^ "PFF Program Guide". Philadelphia Film Festival. Retrieved 15 June 2024.