Paul Conrad Zehrer (born October 10, 1963, in

Sauk Centre, Minnesota Sauk Centre is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,555 at the 2020 census. Sauk Centre is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area. Sauk Centre is the birthplace of Sinclair Lewis, a novelist and ...

) is an American film and television director, writer, producer, and editor. He was raised on a dairy farm and worked as a

beekeeper A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees. Beekeepers are also called honey farmers, apiarists, or less commonly, apiculturists (both from the Latin '' apis'', bee; cf. apiary). The term beekeeper refers to a person who keeps honey bees i ...

before studying Philosophy at

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely foll ...

. He later moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, where he began his filmmaking career. Zehrer's directorial debut, ''Blessing'', which captures the rhythms and rituals of Midwestern farm life, received an

Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glas ...

nomination for Best First Screenplay. He also directed the Emmy-nominated ''

Blue's Clues ''Blue's Clues'' is an American live-action/animated children's television series, created by Angela C. Santomero, Todd Kessler, and Traci Paige Johnson, that premiered on Nickelodeon as part of its Nick Jr. block on September 8, 1996, and ...

'' (Nickelodeon), was an editor for ''

Frontline Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield. Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to: Books and publications * ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant * ''Frontlines ...

'' (

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

), and has edited a number of feature documentaries, including "Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones" and

' "Picasso Paints Picasso".

Awards and nominations

, Best First Screenplay - ''Blessing'' (nomination) * Emmy Award, Best Director - ''

'' (nomination) * Sundance Grand Jury Prize - ''Blessing'' (nomination) * Heart of America Award, Best Feature - ''Blessing'' * Gold Jury Award, Houston International Film Festival - ''Blessing'' * Critic's Award,

Deauville Film Festival The Deauville American Film Festival (french: Festival du cinéma américain de Deauville, link=no) is a yearly film festival devoted to American cinema, which has taken place since 1975 in Deauville, France. It was established by Lionel Cho ...

- ''Blessing'' (nomination)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zehrer, Paul 1963 births Vassar College alumni Living people American television directors Film directors from Minnesota People from Sauk Centre, Minnesota