Lessner's directorial debut was the 2005 short film Darling Darling starring Michael Cera, which screened at over 30 film festivals worldwide [REF] including the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, Comedia, and the Ann Arbor Film Festival where Lessner won the Tom Berman Most Promising Filmmaker Award [REF].
His third short film, Chapel Perilous featuring Sun Araw was an official selection at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival [REF] where it won the Short Film Audience Award [REF].