Randi LeClair grew up in Pawnee, Oklahoma, and is a proud member of the Pawnee Nation. She completed her undergraduate degree in English (creative writing emphasis) at Oklahoma State University, and then earned her master’s in Professional Writing from the University of Oklahoma. She has previously acted for the Tulsa Indian Actors’ Workshop (2001-2004) and written feature stories for the “Native American Times”. In 2003, she played one of the female leads in the indie film, “American Indian Graffiti”, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Bare Bones Film Festival. LeClair and her husband, poet Todd Fuller, signed an option agreement with River Rock Entertainment to write the biopic of Pawnee baseball player, Mose Yellowhorse, tentatively titled “A Dancing Red Spine”.
“I truly believe that some of the most enriching stories come from the rural, red dirt roads of Oklahoma,” said LeClair. “We’re taught in writing courses to “write what you know.” All of my screenplays are set in Oklahoma, and not because that’s what I know, it’s what I love writing about and showcasing.”
The Sundance Institute first recognized the potential of “The Other Side of the Bridge” when it awarded LeClair a fellowship to the Native Writers’ Lab in 2010. “Bridge” will be her first produced film.
“I’m completely honored and humbled at receiving this fellowship. I owe a great deal of gratitude to the Sundance Institute and Bird Runningwater, the director of the Native and Indigenous Program at Sundance, for believing in me as a storyteller, and for giving me this opportunity. Their support and guidance have been invaluable to my growth as a filmmaker.”
