How Disability Activism Was a Catalyst for My Film Career

Daisy Friedman is a writer and director based out of New York City. Her history as a multi-organ transplant recipient has drawn her to create work that centers on the intersections of tradition, intimacy, embodiment, and disability. Her latest short film, Unholy, had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and went on to screen at SXSW. Her previous short film, As You Are (2023), has screened at prestigious film festivals such as Frameline, Inside Out, Outfest, the Chicago International Film Festival and the National Film Festival For Talented Youth. The film has received numerous awards, including the U.S. Narrative Short Grand Jury Prize Special Mention at Outfest 2023 and the NewFest35 Emerging Filmmaker Award. She received the 2023 Colin Higgins Foundation Youth Filmmaker Grant and is currently a winter/spring 2025 Guest Resident at the Woodward Residency. Daisy received a 2020 National Scholastic Gold Medal and American Voices Award for her poetry. She is a graduate of Barnard College’s Film Studies program.