Directing for TV Tips

Episodic Directors Break It Down

February 10th 2020

Rachel Feldman (Blue Bloods, Criminal Minds) and Suzi Yoonessi (Insatiable, The Dead Girls Detective Agency) led an in-person discussion about directing for television and shed light on the process, how to collaborate, and getting ready for set. They each shared their process on how they prep and shotlist for an episode of television. They shared insight and advice on how to get and keep the job as well as how to balance energies as a guest director on set.

Details

Date:: February 10, 2020
Time:: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Event Categories:: Episodic, Directors

Details

Date:: February 10, 2020
Time:: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Event Categories:: Episodic, Directors

Panelists

Rachel Feldman has directed more than 60 hours of dramatic television and is also an accomplished screenwriter. Shepherding her feature film passion project, “Lilly,” a political drama based on the remarkable life of fair pay activist Lilly Ledbetter, her script won The Athena List and The NYWIFT Ravenal Director’s Grant. Feldman recently directed BLUE BLOODS for CBS, the pilot and full season of the new MGM series THE BAXTERS, and will soon be directing CRIMINAL MINDS. Feldman’s drama pilot “Kinks” won the WGA Writer’s Access Project and WGA Drama Queens Award for best spec pilot. Her digital series “The Ice Queen” is in development with Paul Feig’s Powderkeg. Feldman is the former chair of the DGA Women’s Steering Committee and an activist for gender equity behind the camera. She is repped by Amy Retzinger/Evan Pioche/Pamela Goldstein at VERVE.

Suzi Yoonessi most recently directed DAPHNE AND VELMA (2018) for Warner Brother’s Blue Ribbon Content, which is the origins story of two female super sleuths from Scooby Doo. Yoonessi’s second feature UNLOVABLE (2018) premiered at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival, winning a Special Jury Prize and rave reviews. The film stars Academy Award nominee John Hawkes, Academy Award winner Melissa Leo, and comedian Charlene deGuzman, and it won the 2017 Sun Valley Film Festival Film Lab. Yoonessi’s feature film DEAR LEMON LIMA (2009) premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival. The film was released by Phase 4 Films, HBO, Showtime, and The Sundance Channel. In addition to YouTube Red and Amazon episodes, Yoonessi currently directs branded, short, and commercial spots for Funny or Die, Condé Nast, Smart Girls, Portal A, Retrofit, and Super Deluxe. Yoonessi was nominated for a Streamy Award for her International Women’s Day spot #OwnYouVoice. Yoonessi received her BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and her MFA from Columbia University, where she received the FMI Directing Fellowship.

Event Partners

Film Fatales is a non profit arts organization which advocates for parity in the film industry and supports an inclusive community of over a thousand feature film and television directors of all marginalized genders. We raise the visibility of marginalized directors and expand the talent pool for decision makers looking to work with underrepresented voices. Together, we can build a more equitable industry for us all.