Tony Zierra

{{Short description|American director and producer}}

{{more footnotes needed|date=October 2015}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2022}}

{{Infobox person

| image = Tony Zierra.jpeg

| caption = Tony Zierra from 2011

| name = Tony Zierra

| occupation = Director, Producer

| yearsactive = 1999–present

}}

Tony Zierra is an American director and producer. He is best known for the documentaries: My Big Break (2009), in which he also appeared, and Filmworker (2017).

From an early age Zierra's goal was to become a filmmaker. He attended film studies classes at NYU, Texas A&M and UCLA. His first documentary, Carving Out Our Name, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to much acclaim.{{Cite web|url=http://www.indiewire.com/article/toronto_2001_carving_out_a_niche_docs_strive_to_steal_away_fiction_auds#|title=TORONTO 2001: Carving out a Niche; Docs Strive to Steal Away Fiction Auds|date=10 September 2001}}

{{Cite web|url=http://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/10154|title=A look at CARVING OUT YOUR NAME!!!|website=Aint It Cool News}} Shortly after, Zierra went on the road to capture America's reaction to the September 11 attacks. The film that emerged,USA The Movie, explores the cyclical nature of violence and retaliation. The film was the subject of an in-depth analysis from a Deleuzian perspective by scholar and commentator Dion Dennis.[http://www.rhizomes.net/issue9/dennis.pdfindex.html Issue 9 Dion Dennis] rhizomes.net {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}

Zierra's award-winning documentary, My Big Break, is a cautionary tale about the darker side of celebrity and the consequences of fame that also includes his struggle to make his first film. My Big Break has received consistently strong reviews and has been repeatedly praised for its unusually candid look at the effects of success on young rising stars in Hollywood.{{Cite web|url=http://staticmass.net/|title=Web Hosting, Reseller Hosting & Domain Names from Heart Internet|website=staticmass.net}}{{cite web |url=http://www.theentertainmentcorner.com/2012/05/my-big-break-interview.html |title=The Entertainment Corner: My Big Break - Interview |website=www.theentertainmentcorner.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303215913/http://www.theentertainmentcorner.com/2012/05/my-big-break-interview.html |archive-date=2016-03-03}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.movievine.com/movies/my-big-break-celebrity-in-the-making-fame-in-hollywood/|title=My Big Break : Celebrity In The Making : Fame In Hollywood | Movie Vine|first=Wendy|last=Shepherd|website=www.movievine.com|date=February 2012 }}{{Cite web|url=http://www.kennethinthe212.com/2011/05/wes-bentleys-second-chance.html|title = Wes Bentley's Second Chance}}[http://miketomasetti.com/2011/08/my-big-break/ My big break] miketomasetti.com August 2011{{dead link|date=September 2023}}

My Big Break won Best Documentary at the Boston Film Festival, Best Documentary at Artsfest, Pennsylvania, was nominated for Best Documentary at the Raindance Film Festival in London and was an official selection of The American Cinematic Experience Festival in New York. Zierra has been a featured speaker at The Popular Culture American Culture (PCA/ACA) national academic conference in New Orleans,{{Cite web|url=http://pcaaca.org/conference/2009pcaacaprogram.pdf|title = 2022 National Conference | PCA/ACA}} PCA/ACA Southwest/Texas academic conference[http://conference2012.swtxpca.org/schedule/all?order=title&sort=asc&page=5 Conference schedule] swtxpca.org {{dead link|date=September 2023}} and the PCA/ACA national academic conference in Boston.{{cite web |url=http://ncp.pcaaca.org/schedule/presentations?order=title&sort=asc |title=Schedule of Presenters {{!}} PCA/ACA 2013 Event Management |website=ncp.pcaaca.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117201803/http://ncp.pcaaca.org/schedule/presentations?order=title&sort=asc |archive-date=2013-01-17}}

Zierra's latest production is the documentary SK13: Kubrick's Endgame{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1562571/|title = SK13:Kubrick's Endgame (2024) - IMDb|website = IMDb}} {{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240716-eyes-wide-shut-the-remarkable-afterlife-of-a-notorious-1990s-flop|title=Eyes Wide Shut: The remarkable afterlife of a notorious 1990s misfire|website=www.bbc.com}}about the legendary filmmaker, Stanley Kubrick. The film deals specifically with the Kubrick film Eyes Wide Shut, this being Kubrick's 13th feature film.

His documentary ''Filmworker"

{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6851066/?ref_=nv_sr_1|title = Filmworker (2017) - IMDb|website = IMDb}} about the life of Stanley Kubrick's longtime assistant, Leon Vitali was part of the Cannes Film Festival Official Selection 2017 premiering in Cannes Classics{{Cite news|url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/infos-communiques/communique/articles/cannes-classics-2017-1|title = Cannes Classics 2017|newspaper = Festival de Cannes 2021|date = 3 May 2017}}