Sydney Freeland | |
---|---|
Born |
Gallup, New Mexico, U.S. | October 10, 1980
Education | Academy of Art University, San Francisco |
Occupation(s) | Director Screenwriter |
Known for | Drunktown's Finest |
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]
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]
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]
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]
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 |