Heather Rae facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Heather Rae
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|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Known for | Frozen River Trudell Tallulah |
| Spouse(s) | Russell Friedenberg (m. 1999) |
| Children | 3 including Johnny Sequoyah |
Heather Rae (born Heather Rae Bybee in California, October 1966) is an American film and TV producer and director. She creates both documentaries and story-based films. Many of her projects focus on Native American themes. She is well-known for films like Frozen River, Trudell, and Tallulah.
Contents
About Heather Rae
Heather Rae grew up in Idaho. In 1999, she married Russell Friedenberg, who is also a director and screenwriter. They have three children together. Her daughter, Johnny Sequoyah, is an actress.
Her Career in Film
Heather Rae has had a long and successful career in the film industry. From 1996 to 2001, she led the Native program at the Sundance Institute. This institute is famous for supporting independent filmmakers.
In 2000, she helped produce a film called Backroads. It was directed by Shirley Cheechoo and shown at the Sundance Film Festival.
Directing and Producing Films
Heather Rae directed the 2005 film Trudell. This documentary was shown at over 100 film festivals around the world. It won awards like Best Documentary Feature at the American Indian Film Festival. It also received a Special Jury Prize at the Seattle International Film Festival. In 2006, Trudell was shown on PBS, a national TV channel.
Around 2006, Rae taught film studies at Boise State University in Idaho. She also helped start a film company called True West. This company produced four feature films. Heather Rae is also a founding board member of the Sun Valley Film Festival.
Award-Winning Work
In 2008, Variety magazine named her one of their "Ten Producers to Watch." That same year, her film Frozen River became a big success. It won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
Frozen River also received two Academy Award nominations. These were for Best Actress (Melissa Leo) and Best Original Screenplay. Heather Rae herself won the Piaget Producers Award for Frozen River at the Independent Spirit Awards.
In 2010, she produced The Dry Land. This film starred America Ferrera and Melissa Leo. It also premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
Recent Projects
Heather Rae continued to produce many films. In 2014, she produced I Believe in Unicorns. In 2016, she worked on Tallulah, which starred Elliot Page and Allison Janney. This film was released as a Netflix Original Film.
In 2019, she produced Bull, which was shown at the Cannes Film Festival. From 2020 to 2021, she was an executive producer for the Amazon series Outer Range. This show starred Josh Brolin.
Heather Rae has also worked with filmmakers in many different countries. She has collaborated with groups in Europe, New Zealand, and Egypt.
Personal Background
Heather Rae has said that she identifies as Native American. She mentioned that her mother is Cherokee. However, neither she nor her mother are officially registered members of any Native American tribe. In 2023, some questions were raised about her family's heritage. Heather Rae stated that her family has identified as having Native American ancestry for many generations. She also said she sees herself as an "ally" to the Native American community.
Filmography
Heather Rae has worked on many films and TV shows. Here are some of them:
Feature Films
Producer
- Sawtooth (2004)
- Trudell (2005) (also director)
- Out of the Blue: A Film About Life and Football (2007)
- Water Flowing Together (2007)
- Frozen River (2008)
- Ibid (2008)
- The Dry Land (2010)
- First Circle (2010) (also director)
- Magic Valley (2010)
- I Believe in Unicorns (2014)
- Among Ravens (2014)
- Black Eyed Dog (2014)
- Wind Walkers (2015)
- Tallulah (2016)
- Dude (2018)
- Bull (2019)
- Fancy Dance (2023)
Executive Producer
- Apache 8 (2011)
- Mosquita y Mari (2012)
- Young Lakota (2012)
- Winter in the Blood (2013)
- Five Thirteen (2013)
- 1982 (2013)
- Dawnland (2018)
- Once Upon a River (2019)
- For the Love of Rutland (2020)
- I'll Meet You There (2020)
Associate Producer
- Silent Tears (1997) (also actress)
Co-Producer
- Backroads (2000)
- Asylum Seekers (2009)
Television
| Year(s) | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | The Native Americans | Field producer | |
| 2009 | 500 Nations | 3 episodes | |
| 1996 | Storytellers of the Pacific | ||
| 2008 | 30 Days | Consulting producer | 1 episode |
| 2006-2013 | Independent Lens | Executive producer (2013) – Producer (2006, 2008) | 3 episodes |
| 2017 | Rise | Executive producer | 1 episode |
| 2022 | Outer Range | Executive producer |
Short Films
| Year(s) | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Birth Our Own | Producer / Director |
| 1997 | Silent Tears | Associate producer |
| 2004 | The Wicked Men | Consulting producer |
| 2009 | Shimásáni | Producer |
| 2019 | Sweetheart Dancers | Consulting producer |
| 2019 | Paulette | Director |
Awards and Honors
Heather Rae has received many awards for her work:
- In 2005, her film Trudell was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. It also won the Documentary Special Jury Award at the Seattle International Film Festival.
- In 2008, she won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival for Frozen River. She also won Best Film at the Gotham Awards for Frozen River.
- In 2009, she was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature for Frozen River. She also won the Piaget Producers Award for Frozen River and Ibid at the Independent Spirit Awards.
- At the 2009 USA AFI Awards, she won the AFI award for Movie of the Year for Frozen River.
- In 2013, the Sun Valley Film Festival gave her the Vision Award for her excellent filmmaking.
- In 2016, Cinereach recognized her with the Producers Award. She was the very first person to receive this award.
