Sydney Freeland (born 1980)

​Trailblazing Navajo transgender screenwriter/director, Sydney Freeland was once an outsider in Hollywood, but more than a decade of significant, authentic and culturally rich storytelling has made her a rising star in the film industry. Born on a New Mexican Navajo reservation, Freeland gained recognition for her low-budget feature, Drunktown’s Finest (2014) that she wrote and directed. It debuted at Sundance Film Festival and led to a flourishing career. Freeland’s credits include Grey’s Anatomy, Nancy Drew and Fear the Walking Dead. Her feature film Rez Ball offers a poignant portrayal of basketball on the Navajo nation, while her direction of tv’s Reservation Dogs mixes comedy and drama to offer a realistic representation of the lives of four indigenous Oklahoma teens. As a director of Marvel’s first R-rated miniseries Echo, Freeland learned American Sign Language to tell the story of Maya Lopez, the first deaf, Native American hero in the Marvel Universe.  Through her filmmaking, Freeland is redefining representation, championing stories that celebrate her heritage.