Award-winning director of films, commercials and multi-sensory exhibits. Many of Erin's films reveal the complexity and the shadow side of rigid gender norms. THE WAR TO BE HER premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and tells the story of the Taliban discovering a girl who was passing as a boy in order to play sports in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. RISING SONS premiered at DOCNYC and reveals a Congolese couple working to end sexual violence against women through the healing of men in the DRC. Dove's "Shattering Stereotypes" creates a world where women and non-binary people see themselves reflected in the media, winner of the Silver Lion Award for change at the Cannes Lion International Festival of Creativity. Erin directed commercial work for Always, Grubhub, Visa, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, T-Mobile, Mattel, Google, Environmental Defense Fund, UPS, GOOD, Nintendo, Scion, among others.
Erin directed short films: WANDERING MIND about a woman connecting to her own sexual pleasure, THE STORIES WE TELL OURSELVES in which a person demonstrates authorship in her own life, and SIX FEET APART about finding an unusual connection mid-pandemic through dance.
She also produced films: MISSION CONGO (Toronto International Film Festival), MADE IN INDIA (HotDocs), THE OTHER SHORE (SXSW), 2nd unit directed Doug Pray's LEVITATED MASS (Los Angeles Film Festival), and was the co-founder of Cinetic Media where she represented over 300 films including several Oscar Winning/Nominated films such as: LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE, SUPERSIZE ME, NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, BETTER LUCK TOMORROW, CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS, JESUS CAMP, THE STATION AGENT, SPELLBOUND & WAKING LIFE.
Erin studied under directing actors coach Adrienne Weiss, programmed for the Bali International Film Festival, and has worked as a video journalist for Time Magazine's web portal. She is a frequent panelist at film festivals and led filmmaking workshops in Jakarta, Indonesia and Yuncheng, China. Erin mentors women and non-binary MFA students from Northwestern University, she began her career at Miramax Films, and holds a B.S. in Communication Studies and Political Science from Northwestern University.
While often traveling from continent to continent, or simply resting in the forest, she can always be found at erin.heidenreich@mac.com