Film — Laura Tatham

Film Projects

All We Carry (2024)

(Producer) PSIFF ‘24, Full Frame ‘24

A feature documentary that follows a young Honduran family as they flee persecution—migrating in cargo trains across Mexico, claiming asylum at the US border, and enduring separation in detention before being released in Seattle. There, a local synagogue sponsors the family for two years while they await the final decision on their asylum case. As the family tries to settle into their new home, we witness their everyday moments—both sorrowful and joyful—along the way.

Director/Producer: Cady Voge

Mama Bears (2022)

(Producer) SXSW ‘22, Independent Lens ‘23

A feature documentary that explores how the lives of conservative Christian mothers are utterly transformed when they decide to affirm, support, and advocate on behalf of their LGBTQ+ children. All are connected through private Facebook groups for Christian mothers of LGBTQ kids—lifelines for those struggling to reconcile their hearts with their faith.

Director/Producer: Daresha Kyi

Twitter: @MamaBearsDoc, Facebook: @MamaBearsDoc, Instagram: @MamaBearsDoc

Black Beauty (2021)

(Producer) Outfest ‘22, Blackstar ‘22

Directed by and featuring activist and organizer Elle Moxley, this short documentary follows Elle in the midst of 2020. Through slow cinematic moments and meditations, Black Beauty serves as a visual diary, quietly observing the storied organizer in and around her hometown of Columbus, Ohio, as she embarks on a journey to explore concepts of love, belonging, and home.

Director/Producer: Elle Moxley

America (2019)

(Production Office Manager, NYC) Sundance ‘19

America explores the intersection of race, history, and visual storytelling through a series of twelve short, silent, black-and-white, 35mm films that are exhibited chronologically starting from 1915 to 1926. Each of the films represents one year and some ordinarily extraordinary things that happened in the United States.

Director: Garrett Bradley

Chavela (2017)

(Associate Producer) Berlinale ‘17

The feature documentary Chavela takes viewers on an evocative, thought-provoking journey through the iconoclastic life of game-changing artist Chavela Vargas—an arresting portrait of a woman who dared to dress, speak, sing, and dream her unique life into being.

Directors/Producers: Catherine Gund & Daresha Kyi

Dispatches from Cleveland (2017)

(Associate Producer) CIFF ‘17

Spanning the period from the 2015 Movement for Black Lives Convening to the 2016 Republican National Convention, Dispatches from Cleveland is a feature documentary in five parts that closely examines one of the most racially divided cities in America.

Director/Producer: Catherine Gund

Bio

Laura is a creative producer committed to telling stories that highlight urgent social justice issues. She most recently completed the award-winning feature documentaries All We Carry (PSIFF ‘24, Full Frame ‘24) and Mama Bears, which premiered in competition at SXSW 2022 and went on to screen in 80+ film festivals worldwide. Mama Bears was a co-production of ITVS and had its broadcast debut on Independent Lens in 2023. She also produced the short documentary Black Beauty in 2022 (Outfest ‘22, Blackstar ‘22). In the past nine years she’s worked on numerous award-winning films—as associate producer on the feature documentaries Chavela (Berlinale ‘17) and Dispatches from Cleveland (CIFF ‘17) and as the NYC production office manager for America, a series of silent, narrative shorts (Sundance ‘19). She is currently working on several new projects in development.

In 2024 Laura was awarded an Individual Artist Fellowship by Jersey City. In 2022 she was selected for DOC NYC’s “40 Under 40” list. She has also been a fellow of the Film Independent Documentary Lab (‘20) and the WIF/Sundance Institute Financing Intensive (‘20 + ‘22).

Originally hailing from the world of book publishing, Laura has spent over a decade in both the corporate (Simon & Schuster) and nonprofit (Feminist Press) publishing sectors, working on countless New York Times bestsellers, as well as Lambda Literary and Pulitzer Prize–winning works. Laura holds a master’s degree in American Literature from Drew University. She happily resides in Jersey City with her loving partner and their cat.

Granted By:

ITVS

IDA

Creative Capital

A Blade of Grass

Chicken & Egg Pictures

Perspective Fund

Berkeley Film Foundation

Pitched:

Film Independent: Fast Track Financing Market (2022)

WIF and Sundance Institute Financing Intensive (2022)

Film Independent: Fast Track Financing Market (2020)

Breaking Through the Lens, Toronto Film Festival (2020)

WIF and Sundance Institute Financing Intensive (2020)

Sheffield DocFest (2019)

IDA Getting Real (2018)

Panels:

Panelist—Current Issues in Documentary Filmmaking: A Conversation Featuring Laura Tatham (All We Carry), Jules Rosskam (Desire Lines), and Ruth Leitman (No One Asked You) (2024 Milwaukee Film Festival: Milwaukee, WI)

Moderator—A Call to Action for Allies, A Discussion on What Allyship, Advocacy, and Community Care Look Like at a Time When LGBTQ+ Rights Are So Fiercely Under Attack (2022 deadCenter Film Festival: Oklahoma City, OK)

Panelist—Troublesome Women: A Conversation Featuring Aideen Kane (The 8th), Debra McClutchy (The Martha Mitchell Effect), and Laura Tatham (Mama Bears) (2022 Milwaukee Film Festival: Milwaukee, WI)

Panelist—Documenting Love in Hateful Times: A Conversation Between the Teams Behind Mama Bears and Bad Axe (2022 SXSW Film Festival: Austin, TX)

Press:

Full Frame: 2024 Award Winners ~ ‘All We Carry’

DOC NYC’s New 2022 “40 Under 40” Class

15 Projects Selected for the 20th Fast Track Film Finance Market

'Mama Bears' Documentary Hopes to Inspire Conversation & Change Hearts

Variety: LGBTQ Documentary ‘Mama Bears’ Debuts Trailer Ahead of Outfest Screening

The Hollywood Reporter: ‘Mama Bears’ Film Review | SXSW 2022

2022 SXSW Film Festival Lineup Announced

IDA Awards $850,000.00 To Journalistic Documentaries

Mama Bears—ITVS

Meet the 2020 Film Independent Doc Lab Fellows