Mel Eslyn
{{short description|American film producer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Mel Eslyn
|image = Mel Eslyn 02.jpg
|image_size =
|caption = Eslyn in 2015
|birth_date =
|birth_place =
|occupation =Film producer, director, writer
}}
Mel Eslyn (born August 19, 1983) is an American film producer, director and writer. She works primarily in the Seattle independent film industry and has collaborated with Lynn Shelton and Mark and Jay Duplass on numerous films. She is best known for producing The One I Love (2014) and Lamb (2015), for which she won an Independent Spirit Award. She acts as the President of Duplass Brothers Productions.{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/duplass-brothers-netflix-deal-jay-mark-1202706194/|title=Netflix Lands Worldwide Rights to Next Four Duplass Brothers Films (EXCLUSIVE)|last=Kroll|first=Justin|date=February 21, 2018|work=Variety|access-date=March 4, 2018|language=en-US}}
Early life
Eslyn was born in 1983 in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. She attended Pewaukee High School and graduated in 2001.{{cite web|url=http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/movies/indie-film-producer-eslyn-still-dialed-into-her-wisconsin-roots-b99650178z1-365158971.html|work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|title=Indie-film producer Mel Eslyn still dialed into her Wisconsin roots|first=Duane|last=Dudek|date=January 13, 2016|accessdate=June 2, 2016}} She was inspired to become a filmmaker after seeing the music video for "Somewhere Out There", a song from the animated film An American Tail.{{cite web|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/movies/local-award-winning-producer-mel-eslyns-role-is-cheerleader-and-muscle/|title= Local producer Mel Eslyn's role is to be 'the cheerleader and the muscle' |work=The Seattle Times|date=March 17, 2016|first=Nicole|last=Einbinder|accessdate=June 2, 2016}} She worked on film sets in Milwaukee as a teenager, beginning at the age of 14, and was a production assistant on the 2002 film No Sleep 'til Madison.
Career
Eslyn worked in the Madison, Wisconsin film industry before moving to Seattle in 2008.{{cite web|url=http://www.thestranger.com/film/feature/2015/06/10/22342397/mel-eslyn-2015-stranger-genius-award-nominee-in-film|work=The Stranger|title= Mel Eslyn, 2015 Stranger Genius Award Nominee in Film |date=June 10, 2015|first=Sean|last=Nelson|authorlink=Sean Nelson|accessdate=June 2, 2016}} She entered the Seattle independent film industry through Seattle-based director Lynn Shelton and actor Mark Duplass, whom she befriended while working on their 2009 film Humpday. Eslyn went on to co-produce Shelton's films Your Sister's Sister (2011) and Touchy Feely (2013) and was the line producer on Shelton's 2014 film Laggies. She produced The One I Love (2014), directed by Charlie McDowell and financed by Duplass Brothers Productions, and Lamb (2015), written and directed by Ross Partridge. In 2015, she was hired by Duplass Brothers Productions to oversee the production of the company's low-budget films; Eslyn refers to Mark and Jay Duplass as her own "big brothers".
Eslyn won the Piaget Producers Award with a $25,000 grant at the 31st Independent Spirit Awards{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/film-independent-spirit-awards-brunch-1201675929/|work=Variety|title=Three Film Independent Awards Unveiled at Spirit Awards Brunch|date=January 9, 2016|first=Dave|last=McNary|accessdate=June 2, 2016}} for her work on The One I Love and Lamb. She was also twice nominated for a Genius Award by the Seattle newspaper The Stranger in 2015 and again in 2016.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thestranger.com/genius-awards-2016/2016/09/14/24557429/mel-eslyn|title=Mel Eslyn|work=The Stranger|access-date=March 4, 2018|language=en}}
In 2017, Eslyn took over as President of Duplass Brothers Productions, overseeing all film and television content.
Eslyn's directorial debut film Biosphere, starring Mark Duplass and Sterling K. Brown, was released in 2022.
Personal life
Eslyn is in a relationship with Nathan M. Miller, a cinematographer with whom she worked on Lamb, Outside In and Humpday.
=Accolades=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" |
| scope="col"| Year
! scope="col"| Award ! scope="col"| Category ! scope="col"| Nominee(s) ! scope="col"| Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | {{Ref heading}} |
|---|
| 2016
|Lamb |{{won}} |{{Cite web |date=2016-03-17 |title=Local producer Mel Eslyn’s role is to be ‘the cheerleader and the muscle’ |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/movies/local-award-winning-producer-mel-eslyns-role-is-cheerleader-and-muscle/ |access-date=2024-07-24 |website=The Seattle Times |language=en-US}} |
| 2022
|Entertainment |{{nom}} |
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|2400555}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eslyn, Mel}}
Category:American women film producers
Category:Businesspeople from Madison, Wisconsin
Category:People from Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin
Category:Businesspeople from Seattle