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Erica Tremblay

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Erica Tremblay
Born1980 (age 43–44)
United States
OccupationFilm director
Years active2011–present
Notable workIn the Turn (2014)
Heartland: A Portrait of Survival (2012)

Erica Tremblay (born 1980, Oklahoma[1]) is a Native American filmmaker known primarily for her documentaries.

She made her debut as a director of feature films with Fancy Dance (2023). Before that, Tremblay was known for her short documentaries In the Turn (2014), Heartland: A Portrait of Survival (2012), and Tiny Red Universe (2007).

Early life and career

[edit]

Tremblay grew up in Seneca, Missouri, a rural community near Joplin, Missouri. She is a member of the Seneca-Cayuga Nation[2] and attended local schools.

In 2007, she moved to Lincoln, Nebraska.[3] There she made her first documentary film, Tiny Red Universe (2007), serving as screenwriter, producer and lead actor. The short film aired on IFC.[4]

In 2012, she released Heartland: A Portrait of Survival.[5] The film documents the effects of the 2011 Joplin tornado, an EF5 storm that destroyed a quarter of the city and caused about $2.8 billion worth of damage.[6][7]

Tremblay was living in Los Angeles at the time but had previously lived in Joplin, and had relatives still living there, so was touched by the disaster. [8][9]

She traveled to the town with a film crew and for four weeks documented the aftermath of the storm.[3][10] The film features several aspects of the recovery effort, such as the Joplin Found Photos project,[11] which returned thousands of scattered photographs to tornado survivors.

The documentary was shown at the Omaha Film Festival,[12] and at the St. Louis International Film Festival.[13]

In 2014, Tremblay released In the Turn, a documentary film that revolves around Crystal, a ten-year-old transgender girl from Timmins, Ontario.[14] Tremblay had originally gained Kickstarter funding for her conception of the film as a documentary to profile the Vagine Regime, "a queer roller derby collective". She intended to explore participation by lesbian, queer and transgender women in the sport. During development, she was contacted by the mother of a 10-year-old transgender girl. The mother recounted her daughter's difficulties and the resistance she encountered to asserting her gender identity. For example, her school would not let her participate in sports. Tremblay decided to refocus her film around Crystal.[5][14]

She is based in Ithaca, where she lives on the original lands of the Seneca Cayuga Nation.[15]

Honors and awards

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In 2016, Tremblay was awarded a National Artist Fellowship at the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation.[16][17]

As of March 2017, Tremblay serves as Bustle's director of video. Before joining that magazine, she worked for Hearst Digital Media.[18]

In 2023, Tremblay made her feature film directorial debut with the drama Fancy Dance, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. It stars Lily Gladstone.[19][20] It was supported in part by the Cherokee Nation film initiative.[21][22]

Filmography

[edit]
  • Tiny Red Universe (documentary, writer, director, 2007)
  • Heartland: Portrait of Survival (documentary, writer, director, 2012)
  • In the Turn (documentary, writer, director, 2014)
  • Little Chief (writer, director, 2020)
  • Dark Winds (television series, contributing writer, 2022)
  • Fancy Dance (feature film, writer, director, 2023)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "The Independents: We're following a year in the life of 7 Sundance filmmakers". Los Angeles Times. 2023-01-23. Retrieved 2024-06-30.
  2. ^ "Seneca-Cayuga Filmmaker, Erica Tremblay, Honors Her Past and Inspires the Future". Seneca Cayuga Tribe. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  3. ^ a b Korbelik, Jeff (19 May 2012). "New documentary with Nebraska ties revisits 2011 Joplin tornado". Lincoln Journal Star. Archived from the original on 2 May 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  4. ^ Shipman, Dustin (17 May 2007). "'Tiny' film gets big exposure". Joplin Globe. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  5. ^ a b de la Cretaz, Britni (22 November 2016). "'In the Turn' Takes Us Inside the World of Queer Roller Derby". Vice. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  6. ^ Murphy, Kevin (23 May 2017). "Tornado devastates Joplin, Missouri, 116 dead". Reuters. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  7. ^ Lieb, David A. (19 May 2012). "Records show Joplin twister was costliest since 1950". Journal Star. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  8. ^ McKinney, Roger (19 May 2012). "Tornado documentary has Joplin premiere". Joplin Globe. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  9. ^ "Joplin area native premiers documentary about May 22nd EF5 tornado". KSHB. 20 May 2012. Archived from the original on 26 June 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  10. ^ "Joplin native makes documentary about the tornado that devastated her hometown". CNN. 12 May 2012. Archived from the original on 23 March 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  11. ^ Mosbergen, Dominique (11 May 2012). "Abi Almandinger's Joplin's Found Photos Project Returns Thousands Of Photographs To Tornado Survivors". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  12. ^ Lee, Cheril (4 March 2013). "Heartland". KIOS. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  13. ^ Heuer, Alex; Edwards, Mary; Marsh, Don (15 November 2012). "New Films Document Devastation, Hope In Aftermath Of Joplin Tornado". St. Louis Public Radio. Archived from the original on 1 January 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  14. ^ a b Reid, Regan (21 May 2015). "The State of LGBT Film in 2015". Vice. Archived from the original on 15 November 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  15. ^ Armitstead, Claire (2024-06-22). "'We're really funny people': Native American director Erica Tremblay on Lily Gladstone, laughter for survival and breaking Hollywood". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2024-06-30.
  16. ^ Schilling, Vincent (22 August 2016). "16 Native Awardees of the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation for 2016". Indian Country Media Network. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  17. ^ "Native Arts, Cultures awards fellowships". Tahlequah Daily Press. 29 July 2016. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  18. ^ Grinapol, Corinne (14 March 2017). "Erica Tremblay Joins Bustle as Director of Video". Ad Week. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  19. ^ "2023 Sundance Film Festival - US Dramatic Competition - Fancy Dance". Sundance Film Festival. Sundance Institute. 2023. Archived from the original on 19 February 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  20. ^ Complex, Valerie (29 January 2023). "'Fancy Dance' Sundance Film Festival Review: Lily Gladstone Delivers A Strong Performance In Erica Tremblay's Feature Film Debut". Deadline. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  21. ^ Tramel, Jimmie (31 January 2023). "Cherokee Nation film incentive led to 'Fancy Dance' at Sundance". Tulsa World. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  22. ^ Sellers, Caroline (31 January 2023). "Cherokee Nation film office celebrates premiere of 'Fancy Dance'". KFOR. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
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