Laura Dunn CV
EDUCATION
SUMMARY
Laura Dunn is a documentary filmmaker with over two decades of experience creating compelling, independent work. Recognitions include Independent Spirit Truer than Fiction Award, Rockefeller Media Fellowship, SXSW Special Jury Prize for Visual Design, Sundance Film Festival Fellowship, Student Academy Award, Nashville Film Festival Grand Jury Prize, DC Environmental Film Festival “Beautiful Swimmers” Award, and the International Documentary Association Pare Lorenz Grant. Festival premieres include Sundance, Berlinale, SXSW, HotDocs, Human Rights Watch and MoMA Documentary Fortnight.
2002
Master of Fine Arts, Film/Video Production
University of Texas at Austin
1997
Bachelor of Arts, American Studies
Yale University
SKILLS
Documentary Film/Video Pre-Production, Production, Post-production and Distribution.
Fundraising
Raised over $2 million for various film projects.
• Grant-writing
• Cultivating relationships with foundations
• In-person fundraising events
• On-line fundraising strategies such as Kickstarter Campaigns
Created & managed all aspects of documentary production budgets.
Film Director
Directed a variety of documentary features and shorts. Worked closely with cinematographers, sound recordists and crew. Conducted countless in-depth interviews - highlights include Governor Ann Richards, Willie Nelson, William Greider, Robert Redford, Wendell Berry, and Sam Keen.
Field & Line Producer in a wide array of locations including aerial & underwater shoots, high-profile interviews, remote deserts, wildlife photography and night-time shoots.
Cinematography & Sound
Camera experience includes Arri Alexa, Arri Mini, Sony HDW-F900, Sony VX-2000, Sony VX-1000, and the Canon EOS Cinema line. Sound equipment experience includes Tascam and Sony Portable DAT recorders, Sound Devices 833 8-channel field mixer and Sennheiser microphones (mostly shotgun, cardioid, wired/wirelss lavaliers) in both studio and field settings.
Film Editor
Lead Editor for several documentary features and shorts. Twenty-five years of experience on platforms including Adobe Premiere, Avid, Final Cut Pro, and Media 100.
Post-Production Producer and Supervisor
Oversaw color correction, graphics integration, archival licensing/reproduction, music licensing, and all aspects of the on-line and delivery of master film. Formats include HD Cam, DCP, 16mm and 35mm.
Distribution Producer
• Managed extensive film festival submissions and screenings
• Toured internationally with films and engaged public speaking opportunities
• Produced and Co-Produced several grassroots tours
• Created Educational Guides for use in libraries, schools and communities
• Oversaw distribution with PBS, Netflix, Cinema Guild, & Sundance Channel
• Prepared all deliverables for television, streaming platforms and theatrical distribution channel
Primary Liaison for Executive Producers Terrence and Robert Redford for three feature film projects
FILM AWARDS/RECOGNITION
Special Jury Prize for Visual Design, SXSW, 2016
Grand Jury Prize, Nashville Film Festival, 2016
Warner Beautiful Swimmers Award, DC Environmental Film Festival, 2016
Pare Lorenz Award, International Documentary Association, 2014
Sundance Documentary Film Festival Fellow, 2013
The Independent “10 to Watch”, 2010
Independent Spirit Truer Than Fiction Award, 2008
Rockefeller Media Arts Fellowship, 2002
Student Academy Award Finalist, 2002
Humanitarian Award, Tampa Film Festival, 2000
Global Vision Grand Prize, World Population Film Festival, 2000
Student Academy Award Winner, OSCARS 2000
College Prize, World Population Film Festival, 1999
Best Documentary, National Student Film Festival, 1998
FILM GRANT AWARDS
Buckman Foundation Grant, 2019
Community Foundation of Dallas Grant, 2019, 2020
Sundance Film Creative Distribution Grant, 2017
• Toured LOOK & SEE to over 100 rural communities across the country
• Created an extensive educational guide in collaboration with Sprout Media
Community Foundation of Louisville Grant, 2017
Augusta Brown Holland Foundation Grant, 2016
Owsley Brown Charitable Trust Grant, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2022
Sundance Documentary Film Fund, Post-Production Grant, 2015
George & Cynthia Mitchell Foundation Grant, 2009, 2020, 2022
Sundance Documentary Film Fund, Development Grant, 2009
United Church of Christ Film Distribution Grant, 2000
Texas Filmmaker Production Grant, 1999, 2002, 2012
Michael Moore Grassroots Film Tour Grant, 1999
Puffin Foundation Grant, 1999
Women Make Movies Grant, 1996
Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union Film Grant, 1996
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE & AWARDS
Featured in Texas Legacy Project, 2018
Duke University Nichols School for the Environment, Screening & Lecture, 2012
Stephen F. Austin State University Dept. of Fine Arts, Screening & Lecture, 2012
Duke University, Guest lecture for Food Studies course, Duke University, 2012
University of Texas at Austin, Guest taught Undergraduate Seminar on Environmental Literature and Film, 2011
University of Texas at Austin, Guest taught Undergraduate Course “Environmental Fiction”, 2011
Durham Academy, Taught week-long Senior Seminar on Documentary Filmmaking, 2010
UC Santa Barbara Center for Film, Television, and New Media, Screening & Workshop, 2008
Durham Academy, Distinguished Alumni Award, Durham, NC, 2007
Centenary College of Louisiana, Attaway Fellow, 2004
Fulbright Fellowship for study at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Awarded 2002
University of Texas at Austin, University Fellowship in Middle Eastern Studies, 2002-03
University of Texas at Austin, Teaching Fellow, Arabic Literature, 2002
University of Texas at Austin, University Continuing Fellowship, 2000-01
University of Texas at Austin, Teaching Fellow, Producing Film & Television, 1999-2000
University of Texas at Austin, Teaching Fellow, Visual/Graphic Design, 1998-99
World History Teacher (10th grade), Outdoor Academy, Pisgah Forest, NC 1997-98
Yale University Fine Arts Prize, Trumbull College, 1997
Sudler Award for the Arts, Yale University, 1997
Mellon Undergraduate Research Prize, Yale University, 1996
UNIVERSITY SCREENINGS
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Michigan State University
Northern Arizona University
Southwestern University
Vermont Law School
Southern University Law Center
Tulane University Law School
Cornell University, City and Regional Planning
Northwestern University
University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio TX
Trinity University
University of Memphis
NYU, Tisch School of the Arts
Rice University
Yale University
Carnegie Mellon University
Fordham University Urban Studies Dept, New York, NY
AGUA/Trinity University, San Antonio, TX
American Water Resources Association, Texas A&M University
University of Kentucky
North Carolina State University
University of Queensland, Australia
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
University of South Carolina
Berry College
Christian Brothers University, Memphis, TN
Belmont University, Fall Humanities Seminar
University of the South, Sewanee, TN
University of Texas at Austin, Documentary Center
University of Texas at Austin, Dept of Geography and the Environment
University of Texas at Austin, Center for Sustainable Development
University of Toledo
Texas State University Award & Guest lecture series
University of Wisconsin, Madison
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
University of Michigan
University of Oregon
University of California Davis
FILM FESTIVALS *
* Partial List
Sundance Film Festival
SXSW
Berlinale
Doubletake Documentary Festival
Great Plains Film Festival
Wisconsin Film Festival
Telluride Mountainfilm Festival
San Francisco International Film Festival
Sarasota Film Festival
Sundance at BAM
Human Rights Watch International Film Festival
Maui Film Festival
Munich International Film Festival
Documentary Film Festival of New Zealand
Woods Hole Film Festival
London International Film Festival
Cinema Roma (Rome)
Viennale (Vienna International Film Festival)
The Hamptons International Film Festival
Denver International Film Festival
Vancouver International Film Festival
Planet in Focus, Toronto
AFI Los Angeles
Puerta Vallarta Film Festival
Bozeman Documentary Series, MT
Thessaloniki International Film Festival
DC Environmental Film Festival
Buenos Aires International Film Festival
Ashland Film Festival
Documentary Edge Festival, New Zealand
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
Nantucket Film Festival
Movies & Meaning, The Porch Festival, Albuquerque
IndieGrits
Heartland Film Festival
Berkshire International Film Festival
Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival
Vancouver International Film Festival
Portland Eco Film Festival
Camden Film Festival, Closing Night Film
Princeton Environmental Film Festival
DC Environmental Film Festival
Rural Route Film Festival, NYC
Wisconsin Film Festival
Denver Film Festival
Woods Hole Film Festival
Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival
Fayetteville Roots Festival
River Run International Film Festival
Florida Film Festival
Green Film Festival, Seoul Korea
Virginia Film Festival
American Conservation Film Festival
Montclair Film Festival
FotoFest International, Houston TX
Woodstock Film Festival
Melbourne International Film Festival
Hot Docs, Toronto
San Francisco Green Festival
Glimmerglass Film Days, Cooperstown, NY
THEATRICAL RUNS
Cinema Village, New York, NY
Kendall Square, Boston, MA
Nuart Theater, Los Angeles, CA
Lumiere, San Francisco, CA
Shattuck, Berkeley, CA
Alamo South Lamar, Austin, TX
Varsity, Seattle, WA
Starz, Denver, CO
Ritz Theater, Philadelphia, PA
Ken Cinema, San Diego, CA
Gene Siskel Film Center, Chicago, IL
Vancity Theater, Vancouver, BC
Bijou at the Crossroads, San Antonio, TX
Olympia Theater, Olympia, WA
Sundance Cinemas, Madison, WI
The Screen, Santa Fe, NM
Metro Cinema, Edmonton, Alberta, CA
Angelika Film Center, Houston, TX
Cleveland Cinematheque, Cleveland, OH
Cinebarre, Charleston, SC
Webster Film Series, St. Louis, MO
Cinema 21, Portland, OR
The Pickford Cinema, Bellingham, WA
Cinebarre, Asheville, NC
Red Vic Movie House, San Francisco, CA
Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Oklahoma City, OK
Nevada Cinemas, Nevada City, CA
Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH
Speed Cinema, Louisville, KY
AMC Murfreesboro, Murfreesboro, TN
Charleston Music Hall, Charleston, SC
Hollywood Theater, Portland OR
OTHER NOTABLE SCREENINGS
Exit Art’s Annual Exhibition of New Artists, New York City
Aldrich Museum of Art
MoMA Documentary Fortnight
Toured to over 40 universities as part of Michael Moore’s McCollege Tour
“The Green Tour” to over 30 environmental justice communities
National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, Washington, DC
Clean Water Action National Conference, New Jersey
Director’s Guild of America, Los Angeles, CA
Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers
Indie Lens Pop-up screenings, PBS grassroots tour to 150 communities
Amherst Cinema Arts Center, Amherst, MA
The Energy Fair, St. Paul, MN
Landmark Bethesda Row Cinema, Bethesda, MD
SPACE Gallery, Portland, ME
Flatrock Cinema, Hendersonville, NC
Shelbourne Farms, Shelbourne, VT
Landmark Chez Artiste, Denver, CO
Capitol Arts Center, Bowling Green, KY
Tara Cinema 4, Atlanta, GA
Mill Creek Cinema, McKinleyville, CA
Naro Cinema, Norfolk, VA
Cinema Carefree Circle and IMAX, Colorado Springs, CO
Sierra Club/Catskill Heritage Alliance, Riverdale, NY
Ben Franklin High School, New Orleans
The Kentucky Center for Performing Arts, Louisville KY
St. David’s Episcopal Church, Austin TX
Schlitz Audubon Nature Center, Milwaukee, WI
Kettle Crossing Farm, Bergen, Alberta, Canada
The Davis Theater, Chicago, IL
Patagonia, Pasadena, CA
Wilderness Workshop, Carbondale CO
US Army Unit, Afghanistan
TELEVISION & STREAMING
Sundance Channel
PBS Independent Lens
Featured on PBS’s NOW with David Brancaccio, 2007
Netflix
iTunes