Siân Heder (; born June 23, 1977) is an American filmmaker who is best known for writing and directing the films '' Tallulah'' and '' CODA''. ''CODA'' earned Heder an

Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include stage plays, mus ...

and

BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is a film award presented annually at the British Academy Film Awards to a screenwriter for a specific film. It is awarded by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), a British organisat ...

. The film also won the

Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards (also known as Oscars) presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film a ...

and the

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 9th Academy Awards to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in ...

for

Troy Kotsur Troy Michael Kotsur (; born July 24, 1968) is an American actor. Born deaf, Kotsur made his acting debut in the late 1980s working with the National Theatre of the Deaf. His television debut was in a 2001 episode of ''Strong Medicine''. His film ...

Early life

Heder was born in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, on June 23, 1977, the daughter of Welsh artist Mags Harries and Hungarian artist Lajos Héder. Her sister, Thyra Heder, is also an artist. Heder graduated with a BFA from the

Carnegie Mellon School of Drama The Carnegie Mellon School of Drama is the first degree-granting drama institution in the United States of America. Founded in 1914 and located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, it is one of five schools within the Carnegie Mellon College of Fine Art ...

Career

After graduation, Heder moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

to become an actress and screenwriter while working for a nanny agency. At the agency, she worked for guests with children staying at four-star hotels and her experiences inspired ''Mother'', her first short film as writer and director. In early 2005, the script for ''Mother'' was one of eight chosen to be awarded a fellowship for the prestigious

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

's DWW (Directing Workshop for Women). ''Mother'' won the Grand Jury Award for "Best Narrative Short" at the

Florida Film Festival The Florida Film Festival, produced by Enzian Theater in Maitland, Florida, is an annual international film festival. Overview The Festival includes narrative and documentary features and shorts, animation, midnight movies, and educational fo ...

, and also received honors at the Cinéfondation Competition of the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

and the

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) is a film festival held annually in Seattle, Washington, United States, since 1976. It usually takes place in late May and/or early June. It is one of the largest festivals in the world, and feature ...

. The film was then selected to appear in competition at Palm Springs International Festival of Shorts and the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the British Film Institute, BFI estim ...

. In 2010, Heder won a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

, along with her fellow writers, for her work on the acclaimed U.S. television series, ''

Men of a Certain Age ''Men of a Certain Age'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Ray Romano and Mike Royce, that ran on TNT from December 7, 2009, to July 6, 2011. The hour-long program stars Romano, Andre Braugher, and Scott Bakula as thre ...

''. In 2011 she wrote and directed a short comedy, ''Dog Eat Dog (A Short Tale)'' starring

Zachary Quinto Zachary John Quinto (; born June 2, 1977) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Sylar, the primary antagonist from the science fiction drama series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'' (2006–2010); Spock in the film ''Star Trek ...

to raise awareness for pet adoption. She wrote for seasons 1-3 of the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

original series ''

Orange Is the New Black ''Orange Is the New Black'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''OITNB'') is an American comedy-drama television series created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix. The series is based on Piper Kerman's memoir '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Pr ...

'' and wrote and executive produced seasons 1-2 of the Apple series Little America. In 2015, Heder directed '' Tallulah'', starring

Elliot Page Elliot Page (formerly Ellen Page; born February 21, 1987) is a Canadian actor, producer, and activist. He is known for his leading roles across Canadian and American film and television, and for his outspoken work as an activist for LGBTQ righ ...

and

Allison Janney Allison Brooks Janney (born November 19, 1959) is an American actress. Known for her performances across the screen and stage, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Allison Janney, various accolades, including an Academy A ...

. ''Tallulah'' was backed by Route One Entertainment, Maiden Voyages Pictures and Ocean Blue Entertainment and premiered as one of 65 films selected for

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

January 21–31 in Utah. The film received positive reviews from critics, and was released on Netflix on July 29, 2016. In 2021, Heder's film '' CODA'' premiered at the

. Apple bought the rights to the film for $25 million. It was released globally on Apple TV+ and in theaters on August 13, 2021. Heder won the

and the

for her work on the film.

Personal life

Heder is married to actor and producer David Newsom, with whom she has two children.

Filmography

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Director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

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Writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

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Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is one of the three screenwriting Writers Guild of America Awards, focused specifically for film. The Writers Guild of America began making the distinction between an original screenp ...

Sundance Grand Jury Prize The following includes a list of films that won awards at the American Sundance Film Festival. 1980s 1984 *Grand Jury Prize Dramatic – '' Old Enough'' *Grand Jury Prize Documentary – ''Style Wars'' *Honorable Mention Documentary – '' Seeing ...

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It takes a psycho "it takes a psycho" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the American dark comedy crime drama television series '' Barry''. It is the 28th overall episode of the series and was written by Taofik Kolade and directed by series creator Bil ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

* {{IMDb name, id=1571761, name=Sian Heder {{Navboxes , title = Awards for Sian Heder , list = {{Academy Award Best Adapted Screenplay {{BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay {{Hollywood Music in Media Award for Best Original Song in an Independent Film {{Satellite Award Best Adapted Screenplay {{Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay {{authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Heder, Sian 1977 births 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American writers American people of Hungarian descent American people of Welsh descent American women film directors American women screenwriters Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award winners Best Adapted Screenplay BAFTA Award winners Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni Film directors from Massachusetts Living people Screenwriters from Massachusetts Sundance Film Festival award winners Writers from Cambridge, Massachusetts Writers Guild of America Award winners Directors of Best Picture Academy Award winners

Early life

Career

Personal life

Filmography

See also

References

External links