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Sydney Freeland

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Native American film director
Sydney Freeland
Born (1980-10-10) October 10, 1980 (age 44)
Gallup, New Mexico, U.S.
EducationAcademy of Art University, San Francisco
Occupation(s)Director
Screenwriter
Known forDrunktown's Finest

Sydney Freeland (born October 29, 1980) is a Native American (Navajo) filmmaker. She wrote and directed the film Drunktown's Finest (2014), which garnered numerous acclaims after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. Her second film, Deidra & Laney Rob a Train, debuted at Sundance and was released on Netflix in 2017; her third, Rez Ball, released in 2024.

Early life

Freeland 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. 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.

Career

Prior 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. Freeland worked for a number of different media companies, including The Food Network, Walt Disney, Comedy Central, and National Geographic. Freeland directed a six-minute short, Hoverboard, utilizing Kickstarter to help fund the short. 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 is a coming-of-age story about the complex issues surrounding identity and the struggles faced by Native American people. 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. Freeland wrote and directed Drunktown's Finest as a way to combat negative stereotypes of her home community. Freeland, who is herself a transgender woman, also directed a digital series about queer and trans women called Her Story. The series was nominated for the newly created Emmy Award category of Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama.

In 2014 Freeland was named a United States Artists (USA) Fellow.

On March 19, 2022, Freeland joined as a director for the upcoming superhero streaming series Echo for Disney+. In 2022, she was included in the Fast Company Queer 50 list.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Award Year Project Category Result
Ashland Independent Film Festivals 2014 Drunktown's Finest Narrative Feature - Honorable Mention Won
Heartland Film Festivals 2014 Drunktown's Finest Narrative Feature Won
L.A. Outfest 2014 Drunktown's Finest Outstanding American Narrative Feature Won
HBO Outstanding First Narrative Feature Won
Albuquerque Film & Media Experience 2014 Drunktown's Finest Best of New Mexico Won
American Indian Film Festival 2014 Drunktown's Finest Best Film Won
Best Supporting Actress Won
Best Actor Nominated
Best Director Nominated
Best Actress Nominated
Best Actor Nominated
Primetime Emmy Awards 2016 Her Story Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series Nominated

See also

References

  1. Sciortino, Karley (19 February 2015). "Why You Should See Drunktown's Finest This Weekend". Vogue. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  2. Linden, Sheri (1 February 2017). "'Deidra & Laney Rob a Train': Film Review, Sundance 2017". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Academy of Art University Alumni". Academy of Art University. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  4. Silverstein, Melissa. "Sundance Women Directors: Meet Sydney Freeland". Women and Hollywood. Indiewire. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  5. Gatewood, Tara. "Shifting Views with Drunktown's Finest". Native Peoples. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  6. "Hoverboard". PBS Online Film Festival. PBS. Archived from the original on 15 January 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  7. Freeland, Sydney (7 October 2013). "Hoverboard". Kickstarter. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  8. ^ "Shifting Views with Drunktown's Finest". nativepeoples.com.
  9. "Director Sydney Freeland Discusses Drunktown's Finest - Filmmaker Magazine". Filmmaker Magazine. 23 January 2014.
  10. Brodeur, Paul. "Combating Alcohol Abuse in Northwestern New Mexico: Gallup's Fighting Back and Healthy Nations Programs". Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
  11. Jusino, Teresa (9 September 2015). "Interview: Her Story Director Sydney Freeland on Trans People Telling Trans Stories". The Mary Sue. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  12. Brighe, Mari (31 July 2016). "The Emmy-Nominated Trans Web Series Her Story Could Change Everything". The Advocate. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  13. "United States Artists » Sydney Freeland". Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  14. 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.
  15. "Sydney Freeland is No. 41 on the 2022 Fast Company Queer 50 list". Fast Company. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  16. "Sydney Freeland". IMDb.
  17. "Sydney Freeland". IMDb.
  18. From the Heathers series page on HBO Nordic streaming service.
  19. "Winners announced at AIFF awards celebration". mailtribune.com.
  20. heartlandfilm. "2014 Heartland Film Festival Announces Grand Prize Winners, Awards Over $115,000 to Independent Filmmakers". Heartland Film.
  21. ^ "2014 OUTFEST LOS ANGELES AWARDS". Outfest. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
  22. "AFME 2014 Award Winners". abqfilmx.com. Archived from the original on 2015-02-28. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
  23. ^ "'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.
  24. ^ "American Indian Motion Picture Awards Show". aifisf.com. Archived from the original on 2014-11-03.
  25. "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved March 8, 2017.

External links

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