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Sydney Freeland
Born (1980-10-29) October 29, 1980 (age 40)
Gallup, New Mexico, U.S.
EducationAcademy of Art University, San Francisco
OccupationDirector
Screenwriter
Known forDrunktown's Finest

Sydney Freeland (born October 10, 1980) is a transgender 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]

Early life[edit]

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.[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[edit]

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.[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]

Filmography[edit]

  • 2008: The Migration (Short) - director[13]
  • 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[14]
  • 2018–2019: Grey's Anatomy (TV series) - director (2 episodes)
  • 2018: Heathers (TV series) - director (1 episode)[15]
  • 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)

Awards and nominations[edit]

AwardYearProjectCategoryResult
Ashland Independent Film Festivals2014Drunktown's FinestNarrative Feature - Honorable Mention[16]Won
Heartland Film Festivals2014Drunktown's FinestNarrative Feature[17]Won
L.A. Outfest2014Drunktown's FinestOutstanding American Narrative Feature[18]Won
HBO Outstanding First Narrative Feature[18]Won
Albuquerque Film & Media Experience2014Drunktown's FinestBest of New Mexico[19]Won
American Indian Film Festival2014Drunktown's FinestBest Film[20]Won
Best Supporting Actress[20]Won
Best Actor[21]Nominated
Best Director[21]Nominated
Best Actress[21]Nominated
Best Actor[21]Nominated
Primetime Emmy Awards2016Her StoryOutstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series[22]Nominated

References[edit]

  1. ^ Sciortino, Karley (19 February 2015). "Why You Should See Drunktown's Finest This Weekend". Vogue. Retrieved 8 April 2015. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  2. ^ Linden, Sheri (1 February 2017). "'Deidra & Laney Rob a Train': Film Review, Sundance 2017". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 17 July 2018. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  3. ^ a b "Academy of Art University Alumni". Academy of Art University. Academy of Art University. Retrieved 2 November 2016. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  4. ^ Silverstein, Melissa. "Sundance Women Directors: Meet Sydney Freeland". Women and Hollywood. Indiewire. Retrieved 5 April 2015. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  5. ^ Gatewood, Tara. "Shifting Views with Drunktown's Finest". Native Peoples. Retrieved 5 April 2015. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  6. ^ "Hoverboard". PBS Online Film Festival. PBS. Retrieved 5 April 2015. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  7. ^ Freeland, Sydney. "Hoverboard". Kickstarter. Kickstarter. Retrieved 5 April 2015. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  8. ^ a b c "Shifting Views with Drunktown's Finest". nativepeoples.com.
  9. ^ "Director Sydney Freeland Discusses Drunktown's Finest - Filmmaker Magazine". Filmmaker Magazine.
  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. "Interview: Her Story Director Sydney Freeland on Trans People Telling Trans Stories". The Mary Sue. Retrieved 6 December 2015. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  12. ^ Brighe, Mari. "The Emmy-Nominated Trans Web Series Her Story Could Change Everything". The Advocate. Retrieved 8 March 2017. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  13. ^ "Sydney Freeland". IMDb.
  14. ^ "Sydney Freeland". IMDb.
  15. ^ From the Heathers series page on HBO Nordic streaming service.
  16. ^ "Winners announced at AIFF awards celebration". mailtribune.com.
  17. ^ heartlandfilm. "2014 Heartland Film Festival Announces Grand Prize Winners, Awards Over $115,000 to Independent Filmmakers". Heartland Film.
  18. ^ a b "2014 OUTFEST LOS ANGELES AWARDS". Outfest.
  19. ^ "AFME 2014 Award Winners". abqfilmx.com.
  20. ^ a b "'Drunktown' and 'Rhymes' Rule American Indian Film Festival Awards". Indian Country Today Media Network.com.
  21. ^ a b c d "American Indian Motion Picture Awards Show". aifisf.com. Archived from the original on 2014-11-03.
  22. ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved March 8, 2017. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)