Daisy Friedman

Biography

Daisy Friedman is a writer and director based in 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 short film, Unholy (2024), had its world premiere at Sundance 2025 and went on to screen at South by Southwest 2025. The film received an Audience Award at the 2025 National Film Festival for Talented Youth. 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 received numerous awards, including the U.S. Narrative Short Grand Jury Prize Special Mention at Outfest 2023 and the NewFest35 Emerging Filmmaker Award. Her work has been featured in Deadline, IndieWire, Variety, Advocate, and Out Magazine. She received the 2023 Colin Higgins Foundation Youth Filmmaker Grant and was a member of the 2025 Film at Lincoln Center Artists Academy Program. She is currently a UFO 2025-2026 Short Film Lab fellow and a 1in4 x Netflix Writers Program participant. 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.