Heather Rae
NationalityAmerican
Occupations
Years active1990–present
Known forFrozen River
Trudell
Tallulah
SpouseRussell Friedenberg (m. 1999)
Children3 including Johnny Sequoyah

Heather Rae (born Heather Rae Bybee in California, October 1966)[1] is an American film and television producer and director. She has worked on documentary and narrative film projects, specializing in those with Native American themes, and is best known for Frozen River, Trudell and Tallulah.[2][3]

Personal life

Rae was raised in Idaho.[4]

In 1999, Rae married Russell Friedenberg, the American director and screenwriter. They have three children; her daughter is actress Johnny Sequoyah.[5]

Career

From 1996 to 2001, Rae directed the Native program at the Sundance Institute.[6]

In 2000, she co-produced Backroads directed by Shirley Cheechoo, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival that year.

Rae was recognized as one of Variety's Ten Producers to Watch in 2008, and received the Piaget Producers Award and the Cinereach Producers Award.[7]

Rae directed the 2005 film Trudell, which has been shown at over 100 film festivals worldwide.[8] It received the Best Documentary Feature at the 30th Annual American Indian Film Festival and a Special Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the Seattle International Film Festival.[when?] In 2006, Trudell was nationally broadcast on PBS in the documentary series Independent Lens.[8]

Circa 2006, Rae was an adjunct film studies professor at Boise State University, Idaho.[9] Around this time, Rae co-founded True West and the True West Cinema Film Festival.[10][8]

In 2008, she was recognized as one of Variety's Ten Producers to Watch.[11] Frozen River (2008) received seven nominations and won two Independent Spirit Awards, including Rae winning the Piaget Producers Award.[12] It won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and received two Academy Award nominations for the Best Actress (Melissa Leo) and the Best Original Screenplay (Courtney Hunt).[13] It was nominated for five Gotham Awards and won the Best Feature and the Breakthrough Actor awards in The 18th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards.[14][15]

In 2009, the Independent Spirit Awards gave Rae the Piaget Producers Award for Frozen River and Ibid.[16]

In 2010, The Dry Land (2010) directed by Ryan Piers Williams and starring America Ferrera, Melissa Leo, Jason Ritter and Wilmer Valderrama, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.[17][18][19]

She established a production center in Boise where independent filmmakers such as Gregory Bayne, Randy Redroad and Blackhorse Lowe worked.[when?] It produced four feature films before being shuttered. Rae is a current and founding board member of the Sun Valley Film Festival.[20]

After leaving Sundance, Rae worked for one year as senior vice president of production for Winter Films.[21] From 2012 to 2015, Rae served as an artist trustee for the Sundance Institute's Board of Trustees.[22]

I Believe in Unicorns (2014) directed by Film Fatales founder, Leah Meyerhoff and starring Natalia Dyer, Peter Vack and Julia Garner premiered at South by Southwest.[23]

In 2016, Tallulah, starring Elliot Page and Allison Janney, written and directed by Sian Heder, premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and is a Netflix Original Film.[24]

In 2019, Bull, written by Annie Silverstein and Johnny McAllister and directed by Annie Silverstein, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.[25]

From 2020 to 2021, Rae executively produced Amazon series Outer Range alongside Plan B Entertainment. Outer Range was created by Brian Watkins and starring Josh Brolin.[26][27]

Rae has worked with filmmakers in several countries, including the Sami and British Film Institutes in Europe,[28] New Zealand's Script to Screen and Power of Inclusion Summit,[29] and in Egypt with Film Independent's Global Media Makers partnership with the Cairo International Film Festival.[30]

Personal heritage

Rae self-identifies as Native American, and has said that her mother is Cherokee; however neither she nor her mother is an enrolled member of any federally or state-recognized Native American tribe or community. In March 2023 her status was questioned by the Tribal Alliance Against Frauds. According to the group, Rae's family records do not show any Native American heritage, and her family on both sides has identified as white across multiple public records, going back at least six generations.[31][32] Rae responded in an interview with Rebecca Sun at the Hollywood Reporter, stating that her family has identified over many generations as having Native American ancestry and that she identifies as an "ally" to the Native American community, and allegedly no longer claims Cherokee heritage, with "public mentions" eliding "any mention of personal Native affiliation for her altogether".[32]

Filmography

Feature films

Producer 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) (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

Honors

References

  1. ^ "'Not a tribal citizen': Prominent Hollywood figure Heather Rae lacks connection to Cherokee Nation". 27 March 2023.
  2. ^ Van-Syckle, Katie; Van-Syckle, Katie (2016-04-27). "Movies About Women Nearly Impossible to Finance, Say Indie Producers". Variety. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  3. ^ "Frozen River". The Hollywood Reporter. 18 January 2008.
  4. ^ "Heather Rae". Big Screen Symposium. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
  5. ^ "Johnny Sequoyah | About | Believe | NBC". archive.vn. 2014-03-16. Archived from the original on 2014-03-16. Retrieved 2021-01-20.((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. ^ "5 Native Program Alumni Invited to Join the Academy". www.sundance.org. August 3, 2016. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  7. ^ "Cinereach Producer Award". Cinereach. Archived from the original on 2021-01-19. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  8. ^ a b c "Trudell | ITVS". itvs.org. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  9. ^ "Local filmmakers get Bronco project". Idaho Press. 27 February 2007. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  10. ^ "BSU instructor wins prize at Sundance". Idaho Press. 29 January 2008. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  11. ^ Kaufman, Anthony (2009-09-10). "Heather Rae". Variety. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  12. ^ Knegt, Peter (2008-12-02). "Awards Watch '08 | "River," "Rachel," "Ballast" Lead Spirit Award Nominations". IndieWire. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  13. ^ "Heather Rae". Film Independent. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  14. ^ Hernandez, Lee (4 December 2008). "Penélope Cruz honored at Gotham Awards". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  15. ^ Itzkoff, Compiled by Dave (2008-12-03). "Gotham Award Winners (Published 2008)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  16. ^ Finke, Nikki (2009-02-22). "2009 Spirit Awards: Truly Indie Anymore?". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  17. ^ Catsoulis, Jeannette (2010-07-29). "Telling a Soldier's Tale (Published 2010)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  18. ^ "The Dry Land". EW.com. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  19. ^ "Sundance Institute Names 2017 Episodic Lab Fellows" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-12-11.
  20. ^ Bossick, Karen (13 March 2018). "Your guide to the Sun Valley Film Festival". Twin Falls Times-News. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  21. ^ "Tribeca Film Institute". www.tfiny.org. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  22. ^ "Sundance Institute Elects Three New Trustees". sundance.org. May 24, 2012. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  23. ^ Leydon, Joe (2014-03-24). "Film Review: 'I Believe in Unicorns'". Variety. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  24. ^ Lincoln, Ross A. (2016-06-29). "'Tallulah' Trailer: Kidnapping, Coming Of Age And Accidental Parenthood". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  25. ^ "'Bull' Review". The Hollywood Reporter. 2019-05-15. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  26. ^ Otterson, Joe (2019-02-28). "Heather Rae Sets First-Look TV Deal With Amazon". Variety. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  27. ^ White, Peter (2020-01-14). "Amazon Inks Exclusive Overall TV Deal With Brad Pitt's Plan B, Sets Mystery Drama 'Outer Range'". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  28. ^ "Closer: Sundance London 2016 | Sight & Sound". British Film Institute. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  29. ^ "New Zealand Power of Inclusion Summit Adds 'Black-ish' Star". The Hollywood Reporter. 2019-08-30. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  30. ^ "US Ambassador to ET: 'Diplomacy,film can go hand in hand in terms of being tools for cultural outreach". EgyptToday. 2020-12-09. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  31. ^ Aratani, Lauren (March 27, 2023). "Hollywood producer accused of faking Cherokee ancestry". The Guardian.
  32. ^ a b Sun, Rebecca (March 31, 2023). "Producer Heather Rae Addresses Native Heritage Controversy: 'For Several Years I Have Identified as an Ally' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  33. ^ "2016 Jury". Asian World Film Festival. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  34. ^ Welk, Brian (2019-06-07). "Cinereach Bestows $50,000 Awards to 4 Independent Film Producers (Exclusive)". TheWrap. Retrieved 2021-01-20.

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