**FREE** PH Awards: PENELOPE

Sponsored by Duplass Brothers Productions

Feeling out of place in the modern world, 16-year-old Penelope (Megan Stott of LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE) finds herself almost cosmically drawn to nature. With no plan in place, she leaves her family behind for the beguiling wilderness where she begins to establish a different kind of life for herself. As she learns by necessity, survivalism coalesces with coming of age in this poignant tale co-written by indie stalwarts Mark Duplass and Mel Eslyn, and directed and show-run by Eslyn. (Description courtesy of Duplass Brothers Productions)

Mel Eslyn is a film and television producer, writer and director, and President of Duplass Brothers Productions.  Winner of the 2016 Independent Spirit Producer's Award, Eslyn is the veteran producer behind films that include the 2014 Sundance hit THE ONE I LOVE, Clea DuVall's debut THE INTERVENTION, Lynn Shelton's OUTSIDE IN, Miguel Arteta's DUCK BUTTER, Natalie Morales' LANGUAGE LESSONS, and Roshan Sethi’s 7 DAYS, for which she won her 2nd Spirit Award.  In the documentary space Eslyn frequently collaborates with filmmaker Sam Jones, most recently on his HBO features TONY HAWK: UNTIL THE WHEELS FALL OFF for which she won the Producers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Sports Program, and JASON ISBELL: RUNNING WITH OUR EYES CLOSED.  She also produced the award winning documentary NOT GOING QUIETLY, which follows the activist and lawyer Ady Barkan as he embarks on a national campaign for healthcare reform.  On the smaller screen, her narrative television producing credits include HBO's ROOM 104 on which she also frequently wrote and directed, and the breakout HBO comedy "Somebody Somewhere", which was named an AFI Television Program of the Year in its 1st Season.  Her documentary series credits include the Independent Spirit Award nominated docu-series THE LADY AND THE DALE and the Hulu series SASQUATCH.  Recent releases include the HBO documentary LAST STOP LARRIMAH, as well as Eslyn's narrative feature directorial debut BIOSPHERE, starring Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass.  Upcoming releases include Nnamdi Asomugha's debut feature THE KNIFE, as well as Season 3 of SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE. 

Mark Duplass is an award-winning actor, filmmaker and producer. As an actor, Mark has appeared in a wide range of film and television projects including the Apple+ series THE MORNING SHOW for which he received a 2020 Emmy nomination and a 2022 Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Mark was also one of the stars of the acclaimed HBO show TOGETHERNESS, a series he co-created with his brother Jay. Mark’s many on-screen feature film credits include: THE PUFFY CHAIR, which he also co-wrote and co-directed, the indie-sensation HUMPDAY, the Gotham award-winning YOUR SISTER’S SISTER, the Oscar-winning ZERO DARK THIRTY, the contemporary classic sci-fi films THE ONE I LOVE and SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED, BOMBSHELL opposite Charlize Theron, PADDLETON with Ray Romano and the CREEP horror franchise.

Celia Beasley grew up in Oakland, CA to a sculptor father and French tour-guide mother. After attending Barnard College in NYC, she moved to Paris where she worked in photojournalism and then television journalism, where she got her first look at an editing system back in 1999. Celia spent the next 2 decades editing films for Seattle's independent film community such as Lynn Shelton's OUTSIDE IN (2017 TIFF World Premiere; 2018 SXSW US Premiere), SJ Chiro's LANE 1974 (2017 SXSW World Premiere) and Megan Griffiths’ I'LL SHOW YOU MINE (2022 SIFF World Premiere). She spent a year travelling all over the world with her husband and 2 children. She lives in Seattle.