Sydney Freeland (born October 10, 1980) is a Native American (Navajo) filmmaker. She wrote and directed the short film Hoverboard (2012) and the film Drunktown's Finest (2014), which garnered numerous acclaims after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival.[1] Her second film, Deidra and Laney Rob a Train, debuted at Sundance and was released on Netflix in 2017;[2] her third, Rez Ball, appeared in 2024.
Sydney Freeland | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 10, 1980 Gallup, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Education | Academy of Art University, San Francisco |
| Occupation(s) | Director Screenwriter |
| Known for | Drunktown's Finest |
Early life
editFreeland was born in Gallup, New Mexico, United States in 1980 to a Navajo father and a Scottish mother, and she was raised on a Navajo reservation. Freeland attended Academy of Art University in San Francisco.[3] She is a 2004 Fulbright scholar, focusing her scholarship on a field study of indigenous peoples in Ecuador. She has a Master of Fine Arts in film, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in computer animation. Freeland is a 2007 Disney Scholarship recipient and a 2008 Disney Fellowship semifinalist. Freeland is also a 2009 Sundance Institute Native Lab fellow.[3][4]
Career
editPrior to making her first feature-length film, Drunktown's Finest, Freeland previously worked as a production assistant, as a writer and as a camera intern.[5] Freeland worked for a number of different media companies, including The Food Network, Walt Disney, Comedy Central, and National Geographic.[6] Freeland directed a six-minute short, Hoverboard, utilizing Kickstarter to help fund the short.[7] The film was inspired by Back to the Future Part II. Drunktown's Finest is her second venture into filmmaking. The 95-minute-long film[8] is a coming-of-age story about the complex issues surrounding identity and the struggles faced by Native American people.[8][9] The film's name is inspired by a controversial 20/20 segment on ABC News, which branded the town of Gallup, New Mexico as "Drunk Town, USA", after the increase of instances of alcoholism on the border of the Navajo Nation.[10] Freeland wrote and directed Drunktown's Finest as a way to combat negative stereotypes of her home community.[8] Freeland, who is herself a transgender woman, also directed a digital series about queer and trans women called Her Story.[11] The series was nominated for the newly created Emmy Award category of Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama.[12]
In 2014 Freeland was named a United States Artists (USA) Fellow.[13]
On March 19, 2022, Freeland joined as a director for the upcoming superhero streaming series Echo for Disney+.[14] In 2022, she was included in the Fast Company Queer 50 list.[15]
Filmography
edit- 2008: The Migration (Short) - director[16]
- 2012: Hoverboard (Short) - producer, writer, director
- 2014: Drunktown's Finest - screenwriter, director
- 2016: Her Story (Web Series) - director
- 2017: Deidra & Laney Rob a Train - director[17]
- 2018–2019: Grey's Anatomy (TV series) - director (2 episodes)
- 2018: Heathers (TV series) - director (1 episode)[18]
- 2019: Station 19 (TV series) - director (1 episode)
- 2019: Chambers (TV series) - director (1 episode)
- 2019: Tales of the City (miniseries) - director (1 episode)
- 2019: Fear the Walking Dead (TV series) - director (1 episode)
- 2019: Impulse (TV series) - director (1 episode)
- 2019: Emergence (TV series) - director (1 episode)
- 2020: Nancy Drew (TV series) - director (2 episodes)
- 2020: P-Valley (TV series) - director (1 episode)
- 2020: The Wilds (TV series) - director (1 episode)
- 2021: Rutherford Falls (TV series) - director (4 episodes)
- 2021: Reservation Dogs (TV series) - director (2 episodes)
- 2022: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (TV series) - director (1 episode)
- 2024: Echo (TV series) - executive producer, director (4 episodes)
- 2024: Rez Ball - screenwriter, director
Awards and nominations
edit| Award | Year | Project | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashland Independent Film Festivals | 2014 | Drunktown's Finest | Narrative Feature - Honorable Mention[19] | Won |
| Heartland Film Festivals | 2014 | Drunktown's Finest | Narrative Feature[20] | Won |
| L.A. Outfest | 2014 | Drunktown's Finest | Outstanding American Narrative Feature[21] | Won |
| HBO Outstanding First Narrative Feature[21] | Won | |||
| Albuquerque Film & Media Experience | 2014 | Drunktown's Finest | Best of New Mexico[22] | Won |
| American Indian Film Festival | 2014 | Drunktown's Finest | Best Film[23] | Won |
| Best Supporting Actress[23] | Won | |||
| Best Actor[24] | Nominated | |||
| Best Director[24] | Nominated | |||
| Best Actress[24] | Nominated | |||
| Best Actor[24] | Nominated | |||
| Primetime Emmy Awards | 2016 | Her Story | Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series[25] | Nominated |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Sciortino, Karley (19 February 2015). "Why You Should See Drunktown's Finest This Weekend". Vogue. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- ^ Linden, Sheri (1 February 2017). "'Deidra & Laney Rob a Train': Film Review, Sundance 2017". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- ^ a b "Academy of Art University Alumni". Academy of Art University. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
- ^ Silverstein, Melissa. "Sundance Women Directors: Meet Sydney Freeland". Women and Hollywood. Indiewire. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- ^ Gatewood, Tara. "Shifting Views with Drunktown's Finest". Native Peoples. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- ^ "Hoverboard". PBS Online Film Festival. PBS. Archived from the original on 15 January 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- ^ Freeland, Sydney. "Hoverboard". Kickstarter. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- ^ a b c "Shifting Views with Drunktown's Finest". nativepeoples.com.
- ^ "Director Sydney Freeland Discusses Drunktown's Finest - Filmmaker Magazine". Filmmaker Magazine. 23 January 2014.
- ^ Brodeur, Paul. "Combating Alcohol Abuse in Northwestern New Mexico: Gallup's Fighting Back and Healthy Nations Programs". Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
- ^ Jusino, Teresa (9 September 2015). "Interview: Her Story Director Sydney Freeland on Trans People Telling Trans Stories". The Mary Sue. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ^ Brighe, Mari (31 July 2016). "The Emmy-Nominated Trans Web Series Her Story Could Change Everything". The Advocate. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
- ^ "United States Artists » Sydney Freeland". Retrieved 2023-02-26.
- ^ Barnhardt, Adam (March 19, 2022). "Marvel's Echo Adds Reservation Dogs Director". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
- ^ "Sydney Freeland is No. 41 on the 2022 Fast Company Queer 50 list". Fast Company. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
- ^ "Sydney Freeland". IMDb.
- ^ "Sydney Freeland". IMDb.
- ^ From the Heathers series page on HBO Nordic streaming service.
- ^ "Winners announced at AIFF awards celebration". mailtribune.com.
- ^ heartlandfilm. "2014 Heartland Film Festival Announces Grand Prize Winners, Awards Over $115,000 to Independent Filmmakers". Heartland Film.
- ^ a b "2014 OUTFEST LOS ANGELES AWARDS". Outfest. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
- ^ "AFME 2014 Award Winners". abqfilmx.com. Archived from the original on 2015-02-28. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
- ^ a b "'Drunktown' and 'Rhymes' Rule American Indian Film Festival Awards". Indian Country Today Media Network.com. Archived from the original on 2015-05-25. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
- ^ a b c d "American Indian Motion Picture Awards Show". aifisf.com. Archived from the original on 2014-11-03.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved March 8, 2017.