Sydney Freeland (born October 29, 1980) is a Native American filmmaker. She is a citizen of the Navajo Nation.

She wrote and directed the film Drunktown's Finest (2014), which garnered numerous acclaims after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival.[1] Her second film, Deidra & Laney Rob a Train, debuted at Sundance and was released on Netflix in 2017;[2] her third, Rez Ball, released in 2024.[3]

Early life

Freeland was born in Gallup, New Mexico, 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[4] and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in computer animation and a Master of Fine Arts in film. She is a 2004 Fulbright scholar, who focused her scholarship on a field study of Indigenous peoples in Ecuador. Freeland received a 2007 Disney Scholarship and was a 2008 Disney Fellowship semifinalist. Freeland is also a 2009 Sundance Institute Native Lab fellow.[4][5]

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.[6] Freeland worked for a number of different media companies, including The Food Network, Walt Disney, Comedy Central, and National Geographic.[7] Freeland directed a six-minute short, Hoverboard, utilizing Kickstarter to help fund the short.[8] 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[9] is a coming-of-age story about the complex issues surrounding identity and the struggles faced by Native American people.[9][10] 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.[11] Freeland wrote and directed Drunktown's Finest as a way to combat negative stereotypes of her home community.[9] Freeland, who is herself a transgender woman, also directed a digital series about queer and trans women called Her Story.[12] The series was nominated for the newly created Emmy Award category of Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama.[13]

In 2014 Freeland was named a United States Artists (USA) Fellow.[14]

On March 19, 2022, Freeland joined as a director for the upcoming superhero streaming series Echo for Disney+.[15] In 2022, she was included in the Fast Company Queer 50 list.[16]

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Award Year Project Category Result
Ashland Independent Film Festivals 2014 Drunktown's Finest Narrative Feature - Honorable Mention[20] Won
Heartland Film Festivals 2014 Drunktown's Finest Narrative Feature[21] Won
L.A. Outfest 2014 Drunktown's Finest Outstanding American Narrative Feature[22] Won
HBO Outstanding First Narrative Feature[22] Won
Albuquerque Film & Media Experience 2014 Drunktown's Finest Best of New Mexico[23] Won
American Indian Film Festival 2014 Drunktown's Finest Best Film[24] Won
Best Supporting Actress[24] Won
Best Actor[25] Nominated
Best Director[25] Nominated
Best Actress[25] Nominated
Best Actor[25] Nominated
Primetime Emmy Awards 2016 Her Story Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series[26] Nominated

See also

References

  1. ^ Sciortino, Karley (19 February 2015). "Why You Should See Drunktown's Finest This Weekend". Vogue. Archived from the original on 27 March 2015. 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. ^ a b Wang, Jessica (30 December 2024). "How Rez Ball brings Indigenous authenticity to the Friday Night Lights-inspired sports drama". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Academy of Art University Alumni". Academy of Art University. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  5. ^ Silverstein, Melissa. "Sundance Women Directors: Meet Sydney Freeland". Women and Hollywood. Indiewire. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  6. ^ Gatewood, Tara. "Shifting Views with Drunktown's Finest". Native Peoples. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  7. ^ "Hoverboard". PBS Online Film Festival. PBS. Archived from the original on 15 January 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  8. ^ Freeland, Sydney (7 October 2013). "Hoverboard". Kickstarter. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  9. ^ a b c "Shifting Views with Drunktown's Finest". nativepeoples.com.
  10. ^ "Director Sydney Freeland Discusses Drunktown's Finest - Filmmaker Magazine". Filmmaker Magazine. 23 January 2014.
  11. ^ Brodeur, Paul. "Combating Alcohol Abuse in Northwestern New Mexico: Gallup's Fighting Back and Healthy Nations Programs". Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
  12. ^ Jusino, Teresa (9 September 2015). "Interview: Her Story Director Sydney Freeland on Trans People Telling Trans Stories". The Mary Sue. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  13. ^ Brighe, Mari (31 July 2016). "The Emmy-Nominated Trans Web Series Her Story Could Change Everything". The Advocate. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  14. ^ "United States Artists » Sydney Freeland". Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ "Sydney Freeland is No. 41 on the 2022 Fast Company Queer 50 list". Fast Company. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  17. ^ "Sydney Freeland". IMDb.
  18. ^ "Sydney Freeland". IMDb.
  19. ^ From the Heathers series page on HBO Nordic streaming service.
  20. ^ "Winners announced at AIFF awards celebration". mailtribune.com.
  21. ^ heartlandfilm. "2014 Heartland Film Festival Announces Grand Prize Winners, Awards Over $115,000 to Independent Filmmakers". Heartland Film.
  22. ^ a b "2014 OUTFEST LOS ANGELES AWARDS". Outfest. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
  23. ^ "AFME 2014 Award Winners". abqfilmx.com. Archived from the original on 2015-02-28. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
  24. ^ 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.
  25. ^ a b c d "American Indian Motion Picture Awards Show". aifisf.com. Archived from the original on 2014-11-03.
  26. ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Freeland
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