Operating on a firm belief that reality has been messed with since people started telling stories and writing histories, my work is rooted in non-fiction but often uses the vocabularies of speculative fiction and fantasy to tweak and re-imagine reality. I want my work to be a tool that opens hearts and minds to a more equitable world and I believe that the best way to do that is by making work that not only challenges conservative thought and values but also uses experimental and playful language to challenge the way information is received. I see this as a political and playful act that simultaneously reclaims power from both dominant narratives and dominant modes of storytelling to make way for something different.

Bio

Friedland is a NYC-based media artist and educator. Her work has been screened and exhibited at institutions including Cannes Film Festival, Lincoln Center, Anthology Film Archives, The DCTV Firehouse Cinema, PBS, the Tang Teaching Museum, The Chelsea Museum, The Queens Museum, The 14th Street Y, and the MIT List Center. Her works have been supported by grants and fellowships including Jerome, Paul Newman, Ford, NYSCA, the Palestine American Research Center, the LABA House of Study, and the MacDowell Colony. She was named one of the “Top 10 Independent Filmmakers to Watch” by the Independent Magazine, is a recipient of the Paul Robeson award from the Newark Museum, and was nominated for a New York Emmy. Her recent feature documentary titled Lyd, which she is co-directing with Rami Younis, premiered at the 2023 Amman International Film Festival where it won the Jury Prize for Best Documentary and the FIBRESCI prize from the International Critics Association. Her work has been covered by Variety, The New York Times, Filmmaker Magazine, and The Brooklyn Rail. She has written for Millenium Film Journal and Filmmaker Magazine.  Friedland received her BA from Sarah Lawrence College and the International School of Film and Television in Cuba and her MFA from the Integrated Media Art Program at Hunter College. She was the founding Director of the MDOCS Storyteller’s Institute at Skidmore College . She is currently a member of the Meerkat Media Collective and is a Clinical Assistant Professor at NYU, Liberal Studies where she also directs the Liberal Studies Global Media Lab.

Collaborators:

The Meerkat Media Collective

Esy Casey

Rami Younis

Ryan Joseph

Vanessa Woods