Lyn Elliot is an independent filmmaker who specializes in the short form. She has written and directed narrative, animation, and nonfiction films, as sole director and in collaboration with other artists. Elliot’s particular mode of filmmaking has been described as “uneasy comedy,” bringing to the surface the strange undercurrents of everyday life. Since 1999, Elliot’s films have screened and won awards at prestigious film festivals across the U.S. Her most recent film is a narrative short titled A Man for the Job, completed in 2023 and supported by a UMKC Funding for Excellence Grant. A Man for the Job began festival exhibition in the spring of 2024 with juried screenings at the Omaha Film Festival and the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival. The film will continue its festival run through the summer and fall of 2024.
Elliot’s academic training includes a Ph.D. in English, and her literary background informs both her filmmaking and her teaching. From 2002-2011, Elliot was a member of the Film/Video faculty at Penn State University, where she taught screenwriting, narrative production, and documentary production. Since her arrival at UMKC in 2011, Elliot most often teaches Introduction to Film and Video Production, Introduction to Screenwriting, Narrative Production, and Advanced Media Production.
Elliot is the MAP Mentor for students pursuing film within the Film and Media Arts major or the Media, Art & Design major. In this role, Elliot helps to connect students with internships, Kansas City-area film organizations, exhibition opportunities, local production assistant gigs, and networking events with UMKC film alums.
Education
M.F.A. in Film and Video Production, University of Iowa
Ph.D. in English, University of Iowa
B.A. in English, Carleton College
Courses Taught
FILM 250: Introduction to Film and Video Production
FILM 354: Introduction to Screenwriting
FILM 381: Narrative Production
FILM 471: Advanced Media Production
FILM 346: Art of the Short Film
Highlights
A Man for the Job (2023): Official Selection at the 2024 Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, the 2024 Omaha Film Festival, and the 2024 Kansas City FilmFest International.
I Was a Teenage Girl, Apparently (co-directed with Nina Frenkel, 2015): Awarded at the Marblehead Film Festival. Official Selection of the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival tour.
A Good Match (2013): Official Selection of the LUNAFEST Tour.
Another Dress, Another Button (2011): Awarded at the Black Maria Film and Video Festival, James River Shorts, and the Humboldt Film Festival.
The Boy in the Air (2005): Awarded at the Ann Arbor Film Festival and the Milwaukee Underground Film Festival. Screened theatrically at the IFC Center in New York City.