DIRECTORS

Sarah Ema Friedland’s work is rooted in nonfiction, but uses the vocabulary of speculative fiction and fantasy to tweak and reimagine reality. Her films have screened at Lincoln Center, Anthology Film Archives, DCTV, Hot Docs Cinema, PBS, and Cannes Film Festival Doc Corner Pitch. They have been supported by grants and fellowships from Jerome, Paul Newman, Ford, NYSCA, the Palestine American Research Center, the LABA House of Study, and MacDowell. She was named one of the “Top 10 Independent Filmmakers to Watch” by the Independent Magazine, is a recipient of the Paul Robeson award, and was nominated for a New York Emmy. Her feature documentary LYD, co-directed with Rami Younis, premiered at the 2023 Amman International Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize for Best Documentary and the FIPRESCI. Her films have been covered by Variety, The New York Times, Filmmaker Magazine, Screen Slate, Hyperallergic, and The Brooklyn Rail. She has written for Millennium Film Journal and Filmmaker Magazine. She was the founding Director of the MDOCS Storyteller’s Institute at Skidmore College and is currently a Clinical Associate Professor at NYU Liberal Studies, where she directs the Global Media Lab. She is a member of the Meerkat Media Collective.