Sydney Freeland
Native American film director from New Mexico, U.S.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sydney Freeland (born October 29, 1980)[contradictory] is a Native American filmmaker. She is a citizen of the Navajo Nation.
Screenwriter
Sydney Freeland | |
|---|---|
Freeland in 2024 | |
| Born | October 10, 1980 Gallup, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Citizenship | Navajo Nation, American |
| Education | Academy of Art University, San Francisco |
| Occupations | Director Screenwriter |
| Known for | Rez Ball (2024), Drunktown's Finest |
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] In 2026 Freeland directed two episodes of the Netflix series Little House on the Prairie.[17]
Filmography
- 2008: The Migration (Short) - director[18]
- 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[19]
- 2018–2019: Grey's Anatomy (TV series) - director (2 episodes)
- 2018: Heathers (TV series) - director (1 episode)[20]
- 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)
- 2021: Reservation Dogs (TV series) - director (2 episodes)
- 2022: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (TV series) - director (1 episode)
- 2024: Echo (TV series) - executive producer, director (4 episodes)
- 2024: Rez Ball - screenwriter, director[3]
- 2025: Resident Alien (TV series) - director (2 episodes)
- 2026: Little House on the Prairie (Netflix) - director (2 episodes)
Awards and nominations
| Award | Year | Project | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashland Independent Film Festivals | 2014 | Drunktown's Finest | Narrative Feature - Honorable Mention[21] | Won |
| Heartland Film Festivals | 2014 | Drunktown's Finest | Narrative Feature[22] | Won |
| L.A. Outfest | 2014 | Drunktown's Finest | Outstanding American Narrative Feature[23] | Won |
| HBO Outstanding First Narrative Feature[23] | Won | |||
| Albuquerque Film & Media Experience | 2014 | Drunktown's Finest | Best of New Mexico[24] | Won |
| American Indian Film Festival | 2014 | Drunktown's Finest | Best Film[25] | Won |
| Best Supporting Actress[25] | Won | |||
| Best Actor[26] | Nominated | |||
| Best Director[26] | Nominated | |||
| Best Actress[26] | Nominated | |||
| Best Actor[26] | Nominated | |||
| Primetime Emmy Awards | 2016 | Her Story | Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series[27] | Nominated |