Filmmaker Lindsey stands centre frame and looks at the camera with a slight smile on her face. She has a nose piercing and long dark brown hair that falls across her blue velvet dress. In the background are tall, noble trees, shrouded by leaves.

Spotlighting human bodies and human desires in film, television and series.

Lindsey Dryden’s films centre radical and rebellious bodies, women, LGBTQ+ lives and D/deaf and disabled perspectives. Lindsey (she/her) is an Emmy® award-winning, Sundance-supported, and Oscar-shortlisted director, producer and executive producer who works across documentary, animation and live action. Reaching millions of viewers, her short and feature-length films have screened on platforms including Netflix, BBC, Channel 4, PBS, CondeNast’s ‘them’, New Yorker and Criterion Channel, and festivals including Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca, HotDocs, CPH:Dox and Frameline.

Lindsey has Directed distinctive films including The Callers (2024, Frameline/New Yorker/Criterion Channel); Jackie Kay: One Person, Two Names (2017, Tate Queer British Art), the feature documentary Lost and Sound (2012, SXSW); and Close Your Eyes and Look at Me (2009, True/False). 

She Produced the feature docs The Tallest Dwarf (SXSW, 2025) and She Looks Like Me (SXSW, 2024), the Academy Award shortlisted and Sundance Special Jury Award-winning feature doc Unrest (2017 PBS/Netflix), and the 2x Webby- and Emmy-winning Trans in America (2019 SXSW). 

Lindsey has been a Consultant on notable films including Deaf President Now! (Concordia Studio/Apple TV+) directed by Nyle DiMarco and Davis Guggenheim, and Consulting Producer on Heart of Invictus (Violet Films/Netflix) directed by Orlando Von Einsiedel and produced by Joanna Natasegara.

Lindsey is a voting member of AMPAS and BAFTA, the 2025 SXSW Janet Pierson Champion Award Winner, a 2024 Concordia Fellow and a 2022 Sundance Institute Documentary Producers Lab Fellow. She is the co-founder of FWD-Doc: Filmmakers with Disabilities. 

SELECTED PRESS

A portrait of a person with long dark hair, wearing a blue garment, standing in front of a tree. The image includes text: "SXSW Film & TV Awards, Lindsey Dryden, Janet Pierson Champion Award Winner." The person's social media handle is also displayed.

Indiewire SXSW 2025 Awards: Lindsey Dryden receives Janet Pierson Champion Award
 
To honor Janet Pierson, Director Emeritus of the SXSW Film & TV Festival after 15 years of leadership, a prize was created in 2023 called the Janet Pierson Champion Award. As part of IndieWire’s dedication to elevating Film & TV creators, IndieWire is proud to present the Janet Pierson Champion Award to Lindsey Dryden. 

 “This year’s winner exemplifies the spirit of a true film champion through her impressive body of work spanning award-winning productions like Unrest and Trans In America, while simultaneously advocating for greater inclusion through her leadership with FWD-Doc and commitment to disability representation. Her multifaceted career as a director, producer, and advocate demonstrates exceptional creativity and resilience, making her a powerful voice for marginalized communities and an influential catalyst for change within the broader independent film ecosystem worldwide.”