{{Short description|American filmmaker}} {{Infobox person | name = | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1995}} | birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | death_date = | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = Film director, screenwriter, actress | years_active = | known_for = | notable_works = }} '''Kit Zauhar''' (born 1995) is an Asian American filmmaker best known for the feature films ''Actual People'' and ''This Closeness''.<ref name="abt">{{cite web |title=About |url=https://kitzauhar.com/about |website=KitZauhar |access-date=30 May 2024}}</ref><ref name="dead">{{cite news |last1=Ntim |first1=Zac |title=Kit Zauhar Lands North American Distribution For SXSW Competition Title 'This Closeness' Via Factory 25, IFC Center To Launch Theatrical Run |url=https://deadline.com/2024/04/kit-zauhar-this-closeness-factory-25-ifc-center-sxsw-1235890041/ |access-date=30 May 2024 |agency=Deadline}}</ref>
== 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.<ref name="prov">{{cite news |last1=Pollak |first1=Sam |title=Kit Zauhar's Actual People Was Made by Actual People |url=https://provincetownindependent.org/arts-minds/2023/05/10/kit-zauhars-actual-people-was-made-by-actual-people/ |access-date=30 May 2024 |agency=The Provincetown Independent}}</ref><ref name="screen">{{cite web |last1=Hamrah |first1=A.S. |title=Quote-Unquote Cringe: Kit Zauhar on Her Debut Feature, Actual People |url=https://www.screenslate.com/articles/quote-unquote-cringe-kit-zauhar-her-debut-feature-actual-people |website=Screen Slate |access-date=30 May 2024}}</ref>
== Career == While attending NYU, Zauhar wrote and directed the short film ''Helicopter'', released in 2016.<ref name="tone">{{cite web |last1=Minsoo Kim |first1=Joshua |title=Film Show 039: Kit Zauhar |url=https://toneglow.substack.com/p/film-show-039-kit-zauhar |access-date=30 May 2024 |website=Tone Glow}}</ref> 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.<ref name="fantasia">{{cite web |last1=Ferguson |first1=Liz |title=Fantasia 2019: Here are the award-winning films of the 23rd edition of the Fantasia Film Festival |url=https://mostlymovies.ca/2019/07/28/fantasia-2019-here-are-the-award-winning-films-of-the-23rd-edition-of-the-fantasia-film-festival/ |website=Mostly Movies |access-date=30 May 2024}}</ref><ref name="close">{{cite web |last1=Prestridge |first1=James |title=The Future Of Sex And Intimacy: An Interview With 'The Terrestrials' Director Kit Zauhar |url=https://closeupculture.com/2019/07/13/the-future-of-sex-and-intimacy-an-interview-with-the-terrestrials-director-kit-zauhar/ |website=Close Up Culture |access-date=30 May 2024}}</ref>
Zauhar wrote, directed, and starred in her debut feature, ''Actual People'', an autofictional work inspired by her final week at NYU which premiered at the 2021 Locarno Film Festival.<ref name="screen" /><ref name="locarno">{{cite web |title=Interview with the Director |url=https://www.locarnofestival.ch/news/2021/08/09_08_2021/Intervista-Kit-Zauhar.html |website=Locarno Film Festivcak |access-date=30 May 2024}}</ref><ref name="dead" /> 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.<ref name="dead" /><ref name="thr">{{cite news |last1=Felperin |first1=Leslie |title='This Closeness' Review: A Couple and Their Airbnb Host Get Acquainted in an Astute Dramedy of Awkwardness |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/this-closeness-review-1235356670/ |access-date=30 May 2024 |agency=The Hollywood Reporter}}</ref>
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''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lang |first1=Brent |title='This Closeness' Director Kit Zauhar Adapting 'How Should a Person Be?' for 'Shiva Baby' Producer Neon Heart Productions (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/news/this-closeness-director-kit-zauhar-adapting-how-should-a-person-be-1236028503/ |access-date=15 June 2024 |agency=Variety}}</ref>
== Filmography == {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Notes ! scope="col" | Ref. |- ! scope="row" | 2016 | ''Helicopter'' | Short film | align="center" |<ref name="tone" /> |- ! scope="row" | 2018 | ''The Terrestrials'' | Short film | align="center" | <ref name="close" /> |- ! scope="row" | 2021 | ''Actual People'' | {{N/a}} | align="center" |<ref name="dead" /> |- ! scope="row" | 2023 | ''This Closeness'' | {{N/a}} | align="center" |<ref name="dead" /> |}
== Awards and nominations == {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Award ! scope="col" | Category ! scope="col" | Nominated work ! scope="col" | Result ! scope="col" | Ref. |- ! scope="row" | 2019 | Fantasia International Film Festival | Best Screenplay, International Short Film Competition | ''The Terrestrials'' | {{Won}} | align="center" |<ref name="fantasia" /> |- ! scope="row" | 2021 | Locarno Film Festival | Filmmakers of the Present Competition | rowspan="4" | ''Actual People'' | {{Nominated}} | align="center" |<ref name="locarno" /> |- ! scope="row" rowspan="3" | 2022 | Indie Memphis Film Festival | Duncan Williams Best Screenplay Award | {{Won}} | align="center" |<ref>{{cite web |title=25th Annual Indie Memphis Film Festival Announces Jury & Festival Awards |url=https://www.indiememphis.org/news/25th-annual-indie-memphis-film-festival-announces-jury-amp-festival-awards |website=Indie Memphis |access-date=30 May 2024}}</ref> |- | Slamdance Film Festival | Outstanding Performance in a Feature Film | {{Nominated}} | align="center" |<ref>{{cite web |title=Announcing the Slamdance 2022 Award Winners |url=https://slamdance.com/announcing-the-slamdance-2022-award-winners/ |website=Slamdance |access-date=30 May 2024}}</ref> |- | Jeonju International Film Festival | International Competition | {{Nominated}} | align="center" |<ref>{{cite web |title='Actual People' by Kit Zauhar shows that struggle and confusion are just a part of life |url=https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/05/05/entertainment/movies/Actual-People-JIFF-interview/20220505130352269.html |website=Korea JoongAng Daily |access-date=30 May 2024}}</ref> |- ! scope="row" rowspan="5" | 2023 | South by Southwest Film Festival | Narrative Spotlight | rowspan="5" | ''This Closeness'' | {{Nominated}} | align="center" |<ref>{{cite web |title=This Closeness |url=https://schedule.sxsw.com/2023/films/2082339 |website=SXSW Schedule |access-date=30 May 2024}}</ref> |- | Champs-Élysées Film Festival | American Feature Film Competition | {{Nominated}} | align="center" |<ref>{{cite web |title=This Closeness |url=https://www.champselyseesfilmfestival.com/2023/en/programme-du-festival/ |website=Champs-Élysées Film Festival |access-date=30 May 2024}}</ref> |- | Seattle International Film Festival | New American Cinema Competition Special Jury Prize | {{Won}} | align="center" |<ref>{{cite web |title=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 |url=https://www.siff.net/press-releases/pr-festival-2023-award-winners |website=Seattle International Film Festival |access-date=30 May 2024}}</ref> |- | Valencia International Cinema Jove Film Festival | Young Jury Award for Best Feature Film | {{Won}} | align="center" |<ref>{{cite web |title=List of Winners 38th Edition |url=https://www.cinemajove.com/en/list-of-winners-38th-edition-cinema-jove/ |website=Cinema Jove |access-date=30 May 2024}}</ref> |- | Philadelphia Film Festival | Best Local Feature | {{Nominated}} | align="center" | <ref>{{cite web |title=PFF Program Guide |url=https://indd.adobe.com/view/fbca56e4-39c7-4f9b-9959-5cc9530bad65 |website=Philadelphia Film Festival |access-date=15 June 2024}}</ref> |}
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{IMDb name|nm6678180}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Zauhar, Kit}} Category:1995 births Category:Living people Category:American women writers of Chinese descent Category:American film directors of Chinese descent Category:American actresses of Chinese descent Category:Film directors from Pennsylvania Category:Actresses from Philadelphia Category:Writers from Philadelphia Category:New York University alumni Category:21st-century American women