Heather Connell

Heather E. Connell is an American film director. She is best known for directing the award-winning feature documentaries Small Voices: The Stories of Cambodia's Children (2008) and Forget Us Not (2013).

Heather E. Connell
Born
Massachusetts
Alma materSalem State University
OccupationFilm director
Notable work
Small Voices: The Stories of Cambodia's Children
Websitewww.displacedyankee.com

Early life and education

Heather E. Connell was born and raised in Massachusetts. She attended Salem State University where she studied screenwriting and theatre arts.[1]

Directing career

In 2001, Connell relocated to Los Angeles where she founded Displaced Yankee Productions, an independent film company dedicated to using film as a platform for raising social awareness and activism through entertainment.[1]

Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, Connell made the short film Choosing Your Course (2002).[2] A couple of years later she directed another short titled Black/White (2004).[3]

In 2008, Heather Connell wrote, directed and produced her first feature documentary Small Voices: The Stories of Cambodia's Children. Narrated by Connell's close friend, actress Megan Follows (well-known star of the Anne of Green Gables television series),[1] Small Voices documents the struggles of several street children in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, many of whom live and work at the local garbage dump, on their journey to get an education.[4] The documentary won several awards including the 2009 Gold Medal Award at the New York International Film and Video Awards[5] and 2nd place Best Documentary at the Rhode Island International Film Festival in 2008.[6]

In 2011, Connell set out to make her second documentary feature Forget Us Not, which follows the stories of some of the five-million non-Jewish Holocaust survivors including renowned artist Ceija Stojka and is narrated by Golden Globe winning actor Ron Perlman. The film was released on the festival circuit in August 2013 and has won eight awards to date including Best of Festival at Vancouver's Columbia Gorge International Film Festival,[7] Feature Documentary and Editing Awards Of Merit from Accolade Film Competition, Helping Hand International Humanitarian Award from the Rhode Island International Film Festival,[8] Mark Of Distinction Film at the New York Independent Film Festival and Best Narration and World Peace Impact Award from the Artisan World Peace Hamptons Film Festival[9] and Feature Documentary Audience Award at the First Glance International Film Festival Los Angeles. In 2016, on the United Nations Holocaust Remembrance Day, Forget Us Not was featured by the Buffalo Holocaust Resource Center to a standing room only crowd. http://ampoleagle.com/documentary-forget-us-not-remembers-nonjewish-victims-of-nazi-atrocitiesb-p9692-129.htm It is currently available across streaming platforms and available for educational and other screening options through TUGG, a theatrical event platform that lets you bring the movies you want to your local theater or community venue. https://www.tugg.com/titles/forget-us-not

Other work

Along with being the Executive Producer and director of Displaced Yankee Productions,[10] Heather Connell served as Board Chair of the Lineage Dance Company and Performing Arts Center (LPAC), a contemporary dance company dedicated to raising support and awareness for nonprofit organizations and making the arts accessible to audiences of all demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds.[11] In 2016 and 2017, she co produced LPAC's sold out musical productions of Tick, Tick BOOM and The Last Five Years. https://southpasadenan.com/the-last-five-years-now-playing-at-lineage-performing-arts-center/

Shortly after filming Small Voices: The Stories of Cambodia's Children, Connell founded the Safe Haven Medical Outreach Program.[12] Safe Haven is a non-profit educational and therapeutic outreach program for disabled children in Siem Riep, Cambodia. Safe Haven's mission is to provide a safe environment for children with disabilities, allowing them the opportunity to have access to the educational and therapeutic resources that they need in order to reach their full potential and their highest level of personal independence.[13]

In 2013, Heather Connell was one of GO Magazine's "100 Women We Love".[14] In 2017, she was a David Chow Foundation Humanitarian Award Recipient. The David Chow Humanitarian Foundation recognizes and rewards dedicated and caring humanitarians found among charitable, religious, scientific, literary, and educational organizations worldwide that promote man’s humanity towards man whose service of unselfish giving might otherwise go unnoticed. https://davidchowfoundation.org

Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
2002Choosing Your CourseDirector/Writer/Producer
2004Black/WhiteDirector/Writer/Producer
2008Small Voices: The Stories of Cambodia's ChildrenDirector/Writer/Producer

Gold Medal Award at the New York International Film and Video Awards(2009)
2nd place Best Documentary at the Rhode Island International Film Festival(2008)

2013Forget Us NotDirector/Writer/Producer7 wins including Best Of Festival Columbia Gorge International, Feature Documentary Audience Award 1st Glance Film Festival and the World Peace Relations Award Artisan Film Festival

See also

List of female film and television directors

References
  1. "Special Screening: Small Voices, Wednesday, 3/4, 4-6pm". The Gottesman Libraries at Teachers College - Columbia University. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  2. "Choosing Your Course(2002)". IMDb. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  3. "Displaced Yankee Productions - Short Films". Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  4. "Small Voices: The Stories of Cambodia's Children". New Orleans Film Society. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  5. "New York Festivals". Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  6. "Rhode Island International Film Festival 2008 Award Winners Announced". Fest21. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  7. Columbia Gorge International Film Festival - Official Selections Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  8. "2013 RIFF Awards". Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  9. "2013 Artisan Festival International Hamptons Awards". Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  10. Anand, Rohan (1 December 2006). "SIBC fundraiser dinner benefits Cambodia". The Observer. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  11. "Lineage Dance Company". Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  12. "The Pari Project". Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  13. "Safe Haven Medical Outreach". Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  14. Go Magazine - 100 Women We Love. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
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