Randy Redroad facts for kids

Randy Redroad is a talented film director, editor, writer, and songwriter. He is famous for movies like The Doe Boy (released in 2001) and Among Ravens (released in 2014).

Early Life and Filmmaking Start

Randy Redroad was born Randolph Kendall Snapp. He was born on an Air Force base in Illinois because his father was training there. Soon after, his family moved back to Texas. In the mid-1980s, Randy moved to New York City. He worked as a bike messenger and then as a waiter. During this time, he became very interested in filmmaking. He saw filmmaking as an art form that included all other arts.

Randy left college after two years. He then joined a ten-month filmmaking workshop. This workshop was for people of color at Third World Newsreel. Randy's mother's family is Indigenous, and his father's family is from Scotland.

Filmmaking Career Highlights

Randy Redroad made his first films, Cow Tipping: The Militant Indian Waiter (1991) and Haircuts Hurt (1992), after his workshop with Third World Newsreel. In 1994, he was chosen for an artist residency at the Sundance Institute. This is a special program for filmmakers. That same year, he received grants from the Rockefeller Intercultural Media and the New York State Council For The Arts.

He used this money to create his short film "High Horse." This film won awards and was about Indigenous people living in New York City. His first full-length movie, The Doe Boy (2001), was shown at the famous Sundance Film Festival. The story of Doe Boy is partly based on Randy's own life. The movie's title comes from a time when he accidentally shot a young deer while hunting with his father.

Randy Redroad also helped start the StyleHorse Collective. This group of Indigenous artists works with tribal organizations. They create inspiring and educational film and video projects. The StyleHorse Collective made the popular Powwow Sweat series. They also created the award-winning music video "We Shall Remain.".

Awards and Recognition

Randy Redroad's film The Doe Boy received 14 awards. One of these was the Perrier Bubbling Under-First Time Filmmaker award at the Taos Talking Pictures film festival. He also won the Sundance NHK International Filmmaker award. He was nominated for the IFP Gotham outstanding directorial debut award. His film "The Infiltrators" won both the Audience Award and the Innovator Award at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.

Selected Films

• Cow Tipping: The Militant Indian Waiter (1991)
• Haircuts Hurt (1992)
• High Horse (1994)
• The Doe Boy (2001)
• Moccasin Flats (2003)
• 133 Skyway (2006)
• Out Of The Blue (2007)
• Ibid (2008)
• First Circle (2010)
• Earth Meets Wind (2011)
• Beautiful Wave (2012)
• Among Ravens (2014)
• We Shall Remain (2014)
• Powwow Sweat (2015)
• Wind Walkers (2015)
• Everybody Has An Andy Dick Story (2016)
• Edge Of The World (2019)
• The Infiltrators (2019)
• Being Michelle (2022)