Sydney Freeland

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]

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

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.[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

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

Awards and nominations
Award Year Project Category Result
Ashland Independent Film Festivals 2014 Drunktown's Finest Narrative Feature - Honorable Mention[16] Won
Heartland Film Festivals 2014 Drunktown's Finest Narrative Feature[17] Won
L.A. Outfest 2014 Drunktown's Finest Outstanding American Narrative Feature[18] Won
HBO Outstanding First Narrative Feature[18] Won
Albuquerque Film & Media Experience 2014 Drunktown's Finest Best of New Mexico[19] Won
American Indian Film Festival 2014 Drunktown's Finest Best 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 Awards 2016 Her Story Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series[22] Nominated

References
  1. Sciortino, Karley (19 February 2015). "Why You Should See Drunktown's Finest This Weekend". Vogue. 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. Academy of Art University. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  4. Silverstein, Melissa. "Sundance Women Directors: Meet Sydney Freeland". Women and Hollywood. Indiewire. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  5. Gatewood, Tara. "Shifting Views with Drunktown's Finest". Native Peoples. Native Peoples Magazine. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  6. "Hoverboard". PBS Online Film Festival. PBS. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  7. Freeland, Sydney. "Hoverboard". Kickstarter. 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.
  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.
  12. Brighe, Mari. "The Emmy-Nominated Trans Web Series Her Story Could Change Everything". The Advocate. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  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. "2014 OUTFEST LOS ANGELES AWARDS". Outfest.
  19. "AFME 2014 Award Winners". abqfilmx.com.
  20. "'Drunktown' and 'Rhymes' Rule American Indian Film Festival Awards". Indian Country Today Media Network.com.
  21. "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.
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