BIOGRAPHY
Heather is an Emmy-winning filmmaker, and a Guggenheim, Sundance, and Fulbright fellow. Her film WHERE SOLDIERS COME FROM won an Emmy (POV), an Independent Spirit Award, and a SXSW Jury Award. Her latest feature documentary, BREAKING THE NEWS, premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2023, won the David Carr Award for Truth in Filmmaking at the Montclair Film Fest, and had its broadcast and streaming premiere on PBS’ Independent Lens in February 2024. Her latest short documentary, FOR THE RECORD, about an editor trying to save her family’s newspaper in rural Texas, premiered at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival and has screened at DC/Dox, New Orleans Film Fest, and the Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Festival, among others. The film had its streaming and broadcast premiere on PBS Reel South in May 2024.
Her earlier films include the Ford-funded feature doc THE UNAFRAID, which was broadcast on the national PBS series America ReFramed, LETTERS FROM THE OTHER SIDE (supported by a Fulbright, premiered at Slamdance Film Festival, and aired on PBS), and LOS TRABAJADORES (IDA Award, SXSW Audience Award, and Indie Lens broadcast). Prior to receiving her MFA in Film, Heather spent eight years writing and photographing for the United Nations and several relief agencies, including in the Rwandan refugee camps after the 1994 genocide there. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their recently adopted 8-year-old pit bull, but is from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and is proud to call herself a Yooper.
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Independent Films/ Projects
BREAKING THE NEWS
March 2020 – June 2023Feature documentary, Co-Director/Producer/DP
A feature documentary that follows a group of ground-breaking female and LGBTQ+ journalists as they launch a news start-up during the pandemic all to upend the white male status quo in legacy newsrooms. Funders include the Ford Foundation/Just Films, ITVS, The International Documentary Association, and Impact Partners.
Public screenings (selected list):
Tribeca Film Festival 2023, World Premiere
DC/Dox 2023
Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Festival
Montclair Film Festival (David Carr Award for Truth in Film)
Austin Flm Society
PBS/Independent Lens broadcast - February 2024
FOR THE RECORD
July 2017 – January 2023Short (35-min) documentary, Director/Producer/DP/Editor
Running out of time and money, editor Laurie Brown battles an oil bust, a global pandemic, and a growing mistrust of the media as she tries to keep her family’s newspaper alive in rural Texas.
Public screenings:
Big Sky Documentary Film Fest 2023, World Premiere
Freep (Detroit Free Press) Film Festival
DC/Dox 2023
Hot Springs Documentary Film Fest
Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Fest
Montclair Film Festival
New Orleans Film Festival
PBS/Reel South Broadcast Premiered May 2024
THE UNAFRAID
2013-2018Feature Documentary, Co-Director /Producer /Cinematographer
Public screenings (selected list):
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival (Human Rights Award)
Human Rights Watch Film Festival, Closing Night Film
New Orleans Film Festival
Milwaukee Film Festival
St. Louis Film Festival
Broadcast Fall 2019 on national PBS series America Reframed/World Channel.
WHERE SOLDIERS COME FROM
2007-2011Feature Documentary, Director /Producer/Cinematographer/Co-Editor
Awards (selected list):
Emmy Award 2012
Independent Spirit Truer Than Fiction Award 2012
SXSW Jury Prize 2011
Founders Award, Best Documentary, Michael Moore’s Traverse City Film Festival 2011
Philadelphia Film Festival 2011, Jury Award, Best Feature Documentary
Major public screenings (selected list):
World Premiere SXSW Film Festival, March 2011
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, April 2011
Silverdocs International Film Festival, June 2011
Los Angeles Film Festival, June 2011
BAM Cinemafest 2011
Theatrical Premiere, New York, Village East Cinemas, September 2011
Detroit Institute of Art, October 2011
Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, November 2011
MOMA, March 2013
National PBS Broadcast, Fall Special on POV, November 2011
Reviews and articles (selected list)
New York Times, Jeannette Catsoulis
“Quietly devastating… In its compassionate, modest gaze, the real cost of distant political decisions is softly illuminated, as well as the shame of a country with little to offer its less fortunate young people than a ticket to a battlefield.”
Washington Post, Hank Stuever
“Hauntingly beautiful and deeply felt… some of the best Afghanistan war-related storytelling I’ve seen … I watched “Where Soldiers Come From” twice – it was that good.”Time, Steven James Snyder
“Revelatory… emotional and engrossing.”
WIDOW CHAMPION
Jan 2019 – presentFeature Documentary, Producer
Thrown off her land by her in-laws, a quiet yet resilient Kenyan widow transforms into a fierce advocate for women's land rights. Rhoda rallies fellow widows to reclaim their rightful property in a highly patriarchal community, depicting the tension between an ingrained culture and a rapidly evolving world. Funded by Ford Foundation|Just Films, the Sundance Documentary Fund, and Sundance Stories of Change.
LETTERS FROM THE OTHER SIDE
2002-2006
Feature Documentary, Director /Producer/CinematographerMajor Public Screenings (selected list):
Slamdance Film Festival, January 2006
SXSW Film Festival, March 2006
Rooftop Films, New York, August 2006
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, Oct. 2006
National PBS broadcast Fall 2006
Reviews and articles (selected list)
Variety, John Anderson
"A much-needed examination of the collateral damage of illegal immigration ... sensitive, effective and emotionally potent."
LOS TRABAJADORES/ THE WORKERS 1999-2001
Documentary, 48 minutes, Director / Producer / Editor / Camera
Awards:
International Documentary Association David Wolper Award, 2001
Audience Award, SXSW Film Festival 2001
Best of Show, Cinematexas International Film Festival 2001
First Place,Documentary, Next Frame Touring Festival of International Student Film, 2001
Major Public Screenings:
SWSW Film Festival
Broadcast nationally on PBS’ Independent Lens
Branded Content or Works-for-Hire (selected list)
10 WEEKS
Nov 2019 – Feb 2020
Documentary series, Senior Field Producer
Documentary series produced by Blumhouse Productions for release on the streaming platform Roku. The series follows a group of recent recruits as they try to survive Army Basic Training.XQ SUPER SCHOOL PROJECT
March 2018 – June 2019
Documentary series, Field /Story Producer
Documentary series directed by Lee Hirsch (Bully, Amandla!) and produced by Moxie Pictures. Field producer/story producer following students at a Washington, DC high school, one of several schools in the documentary series that are trying to “reinvent education”.THE BIG SORT
2016
Documentary short, Director/EditorPart of a PBS/Washington Post online documentary series called Postcards from the Great Divide, about the growing political divisions in America. The Big Sort tells a story about the rural/urban divide, through the journey of one rural to urban transplant.ZERO DAYS
November 2015
Feature Documentary, Field Producer
Feature documentary by Alex Gibney and Jigsaw Productions. Field Producer for Washington, DC-based shoot filming New York Times reporter David Sanger.MERIDIAN HILL PICTURES
Fall 2015
Director/Producer
Promotional videos for Washington, DC-based NGOsCRITICAL CONDITION
2006-2007
Field Producer/ Co-Director
Texas Field Producer for Roger Weisberg’s documentary on the healthcare crisis. National broadcast on POV in September 2008.HEALING WATERS
2014
Documentary short, Director / Editor
Commissioned by the Mental Health Channel, an online channel devoted to issues of mental health, Healing Waters tells the story of a fly fishing organization that helps war veterans with PTSD and other trauma.RIDE TO LIVE
2014
Documentary short, Director
Commissioned by the Mental Health Channel, an online channel devoted to issues of mental health, Ride to Live tells the story of a motorcycle-riding peer support group for veterans. -
Fellowships:
Guggenheim Fellowship
Sundance Story and Edit Lab Fellow
United States Artists Fellowship
Fulbright Fellowship to Mexico
Funding Support:
Ford Foundation
IDA Enterprise Fund
Chicken & Egg
MacArthur Foundation
ITVS Open Call
Sundance Documentary Fund
Impact Partners
Perspective Fund
Points North American Stories Documentary FundLatino Public Broadcasting
Austin Film Society
Tribeca Film Institute
Paul Robeson Fund
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Chapman University, Adjunct Professor, Documentary Editing Jan - May 2024
Youth Documentary Academy, Instructor/Mentor, June 2024
University of Texas, Adjunct Professor, Intro to Documentary Production, January - May 2013
Harvard University, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Presenter at Conference “Global Citizenship in the 21st Citizenry, April 2018
American Film Showcase, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, May 2017 - Taught series of classes to local university students on documentary production and distribution, as part of State Dept cultural program.
American Film Showcase, Beijing, China, October 2014 – Taught workshop on documentary production to NGO leaders and activists as past of State Dept cultural program.
University of Arizona Center for Documentary Initiatives, February 2019 - Workshop on Directing Verite Documentaries
Northwestern University, Graduate Documentary Media Program, February 2019 - Master Class on Crafting a Career in Documentary Film
Southern Documentary Fund, Artists Convening, May 2015 – Master Class/ Keynotes Behind-the-Scenes of Production and Post-production on Where Soldiers Come From
Stephens College, April 2013 – Master Class “Making the Documentary: From Idea to Distribution
UC-Santa Barbara, “Fall-out: In the Aftermath of War”, Nov 2012 - Workshop on Using Where Soldiers Come From as a tool to discuss the silent war wounds of PTS and TBI
American University, February 2012 - Master Class “Making the Documentary from Pre-Pro to Distribution”
Michigan State University, November 2011 - Master Class “Making the Documentary from Idea to Distribution”
Mentor, ITVS Mentor Program - Mentored Director Sonia Kennebeck while in production on National Bird, 2014
Mentor, IFP Mentor Program - Mentored Directors Alix Blaire and Jeremy Lange during production on their film Farmer Veteran, 2016
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Jury, Independent Spirit Awards, Truer Than Fiction Award, November 2012
Jury, South by Southwest Film Festival, Documentary Shorts, March 2014
Jury, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, April 2012
Jury, Documentary, Silverdocs Film Festival, June 2012
Judge, TV and Documentary Emmy Awards, 2022
Member - Documentary Producers Alliance
Member - International Documentary Association
Member/Owner - New Day Films
Member - Austin Film Society