Suzi Yoonessi
Age: 29
Short film: "Dear Lemon Lima"

Wed., 1:30 p.m., Starlight, $12
Fri.., 10 a.m., Starlight, $21
Plays in "Lovers, Friends and Family"
It's the story of a lonely girl with a vivid imagination who struggles to plant seeds of love when a narcissistic sweetheart breaks her heart. It's a short film about heartbreak.

What does being included in the

festival mean to you?

It's great, because Nantucket is one of the bigger [festivals]. …I did "Dear Lemon Lima" for my thesis at grad school. The story is a fulllength, but for first-time filmmakers, it helps to have a short that reflects the tone of your film, that shows that you can direct. … "Dear Lemon Lima" has been in 15 festivals - including Tribecca, and it will play at the L.A. festival at the end of the month, and I feel like every film festival where the short screens, I get a sense of where and how the audience responds, and it gives me information for the feature. … I feel like I'm also developing relationships with these festivals for the feature to play.

What do you hope to get out

of its screening?

Recently, one executive sent me an email saying, "I don't understand if the film is a small art film, or if it's more mainstream, a short starting with the voice of the character but that can become more conventional. I thought it was a good question, because it's a question I'm also trying to address. I like to use this reference: Walter Martin and Paloma Munoz do these snowglobes fused with subversive elements; it's a conventional format that turns people's expectations on their head. That's what I'm hoping "Dear Lemon Lima" does too. … I worked on "'Me, You and Everyone We Know," and I always thought Miranda's film was like Todd Solandz in pink - similar thematically but with a really feminine touch … and I saw that some of these more subversive elements are palatable to the audience because they're dressed in pink. People can deal with stuff easier if you have humor, something that makes them laugh.