From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Eric Mendelsohn (born 1 November 1964) is an American film director and screenwriter. Two of his films have been screened in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes: Through an Open Window in 1992 and Judy Berlin in 1999., which won the Directing Award at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. His third film, 3 Backyards, also earned the Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival