Heather Rae facts for kids

Heather Rae (born in California in October 1966) is an American who makes movies and TV shows. She works as a producer, director, and sometimes an actress. She is famous for her work on films like Frozen River, Trudell, and Tallulah. Many of her projects focus on stories about Native Americans.

Personal Life and Family

Heather Rae grew up in the state of Idaho. In 1999, she married Russell Friedenberg, who is also a director and writer for movies. Together, they have three children. One of their children, Johnny Sequoyah, is an actress.

Career in Filmmaking

Heather Rae has had a long and successful career in the film industry. She has helped create many important movies and has received several awards for her work.

Early Career and Sundance

From 1996 to 2001, Rae was in charge of the Native program at the famous Sundance Institute. This program helps Native American filmmakers create and share their stories. In 2000, she helped produce the movie Backroads, which was shown at the Sundance Film Festival.

After her time at Sundance, she worked for a year at Winter Films. She also taught film studies at Boise State University in Idaho.

Major Film Successes

One of Rae's most famous films is Frozen River, which came out in 2008. The movie was a huge success. It won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for two Academy Awards. For her work on this film, Rae was named one of Variety magazine's "Ten Producers to Watch."

Another important film she directed is Trudell (2005). This documentary was shown at more than 100 film festivals around the world. It won Best Documentary at the American Indian Film Festival and was shown on the TV channel PBS.

Some of her other well-known films include:

• The Dry Land (2010), starring America Ferrera and Melissa Leo.
• I Believe in Unicorns (2014), starring Natalia Dyer from Stranger Things.
• Tallulah (2016), starring Elliot Page and Allison Janney, which was released as a Netflix Original Film.
• Bull (2019), which was shown at the famous Cannes Film Festival.

Recent Work

From 2020 to 2021, Rae was an executive producer for the Amazon Prime Video TV series Outer Range. The show stars actor Josh Brolin.

Rae has also worked with filmmakers from all over the world, including in Europe, New Zealand, and Egypt, helping them develop their skills and projects.

Personal Heritage

Heather Rae has identified herself as being of Native American heritage. She has said her mother is Cherokee. However, neither she nor her mother is officially registered as a member of a Native American tribe.

In 2023, a group called the Tribal Alliance Against Frauds questioned her family background. The group stated that public records going back many generations show her family identified as white. In an interview, Rae said that her family has long identified as having Native American ancestry. She now describes herself as an "ally" to the Native American community.

Selected Filmography

Heather Rae has worked on many films and television shows. Here are some of the projects she has helped create.

Feature Films

Producer

• Sawtooth (2004)
• Trudell (2005) (also director)
• Frozen River (2008)
• The Dry Land (2010)
• ... Backwards (2013)
• I Believe in Unicorns (2014)
• Tallulah (2016)
• Bull (2019)
• Fancy Dance (2023)

Executive Producer

• Mosquita y Mari (2012)
• Winter in the Blood (2013)
• Dawnland (2018)
• Once Upon a River (2019)

Television

Awards and Honors

Heather Rae has received many awards for her contributions to film.

• 2005: She won a Special Jury Award at the Seattle International Film Festival for her documentary Trudell.
• 2008: Her film Frozen River won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and Best Film at the Gotham Awards.
• 2009: She won the Piaget Producers Award at the Independent Spirit Awards for her work on Frozen River and Ibid.
• 2013: The Sun Valley Film Festival gave her the Vision Award for her excellent work in filmmaking.
• 2016: She received the first-ever Producers Award from an organization called Cinereach.